Destiny In Magic
by Kyree Winx
Summary: I decided to repost it! Sequel to Found In Magic. Bloom's back. Nabu's back. Daphne's back. But was that all that came back with Bloom when she escaped the Death Realm? Old evils will arise and everyone will be shocked by who it is Bloom has to fight next. Enjoy this third installation of the Lost In Magic series.
1. Chapter 1

_**Destiny In Magic**_

_**By: Kyree Winx**_

_**Author's Note: Okay, I understand that there's a bit of confusion about this story. I removed this story from the fanfiction site several months back because I didn't really like where it was going. Several months later I reopened the files, read them through, and discovered that my story wasn't that bad. I took a quick look through the chapters before I posted them to deal with some minor edits and errors. Some of my readers were having a de ja vu sensation while they were reading and I apologize for this. I figured I'd better post an explanation to deal with any more confusion my readers may have.**_

_**With that out of the way, enjoy Destiny in Magic!**_

Chapter 1- Imbalance

She awoke, gasping for air. Everything hurt, everything ached. She wanted to scream in pain, but her labored breathing wouldn't allow her to. Her lungs did the screaming for her, demanding oxygen. Every muscle in her body tensed as she regained voluntary control.

A commotion rang out from off in the distance. Slowly she pushed herself to a kneeling position. Leaves brushed against her face and twigs caught in her hair. Her amber eyes opened and she glanced around in search of the commotion. Through the thick bushes she was in she spotted a red-haired girl being mauled by a grotesque creature. She gleefully chuckled.

"Finally she'll be gone. That demon should finish her off…" She'd spoken too soon.

A girl screamed out. "Leave her alone!"

The demon abandoned its attack on the red-head and went running toward a group of well-dressed people. The people just stood there in horror. A regally dressed man pulled out a sword and the woman next to him summoned flames in her hands. They were prepared to take on the demon.

Then the red-haired girl tackled the demon. They wrestled for mere seconds when flames ripped through the creature. The girl lay on her back, gasping for breath. "Well, then."

"Bloom!" A voice rang out. Her gaze snapped to a blonde boy running to the redhead's side. The two embraced and a whole horde of people came rushing forth, ecstatic that the redhead was alive. The whole scene was sickening to watch.

Something just beyond the scene caught her eye. She spotted a man hiding beyond a small thatch of trees watching the scene. His dark eyes were fixed on one person in the whole horde of people. Then he disappeared into the shadows.

"I don't think we'll be meeting again, Bloom." she muttered as she too pulled into the shadows and fled the realm of Sparks.

* * *

_Bloom stared at the horde of demons rushing at her. 'So this is it.' Bloom thought calmly to herself. _

"_Bloom I'm so sorry." Daphne sobbed. "You weren't supposed to die like this. I'm the worst older sister ever."_

"_Daphne. Shut. Up." Bloom glared at her ghostly sister. "You were the best, damn it. You died for me!"_

"_Well, nice knowing you living. Maybe you'll join our spiritual posse here in Limbo?" Nabu said, trying to put a positive spin on things. Daphne just threw him the glare of the century. Bloom was about to snap at them when a leading demon jumped on her. There was a bright flash of light. Pain shot through Bloom, tearing mercilessly at her being and soul. Bloom could hear Daphne screaming…in pain? She didn't linger on the thought too long because she was being mauled by a demon. Bloom struggled with the creature, trying to avoid its claws and teeth. Daphne's scream ceased for mere seconds, but Bloom heard her shout. "Leave her alone!" Daphne screamed._

_Bloom felt the demon jump off her and go running off in a direction. Bloom fixed her focus on the damn thing and followed in hot pursuit. She threw herself at the demon and the two went rolling. Bloom felt the Dragon Fire burning deep within her again and she didn't care one bit when she let it go. The demon had to go and it had to go now!_

_Then the demon was gone. "Well then." Bloom gasped and lay there on the ground._

_Then the scene changed. Before her she saw her escape from the death realm melt away. The grassy lawns of Sparks became dark. Her friends blanked out to shadows. Her parents rushing to her aid just faded away. She watched as Sky, who was reaching down for her, disappeared right before her. Everything faded until Bloom sat alone on a cold stone floor in a circle of light she couldn't see beyond._

"_Hello?" Bloom stood up slowly and spun around. "Hello?" Whispers answered her, their sources unknown._

_-The balance has been upset.-_

_-Too much…far too much-_

_-Everything falling apart.-_

_-Must restore the balance…-_

_Bloom hugged herself. "The balance? What balance?" Then she remembered. "The balance between good and evil? Ianessa mentioned it. Is that what needs to be restored?"_

"_Indeed." A cold voice echoed around her._

_Bloom whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. "Why is it out of balance? What's happened to upset the balance? Tell me." Bloom squinted uselessly into the darkness._

"_You demand so much. And the Divine Fairies speak so highly of you being so good and humble." The voice laughed. _

_Bloom's ears rang as the sound settled in the darkness. She waited patiently for the sound to clear then spoke, "It is my duty to keep the balance as the guardian fairy of Sparks and leader of the new Company of Light. I must know, why is the balance upset?"_

"_The balance will never be achieved until your destiny is fulfilled little princess." The voice mocked her openly. "Your birth alone set off a series of events that even the best seers haven't been able to decipher clearly. Many different futures have been foretold. In both the good and the evil futures, you are a key role. You could be the universe's savior like you've been thus far, or its bane like you were nearly two years ago now."_

_Bloom clenched her fists. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Her shouts didn't echo, unlike the mystery voice's. The angry words merely died as they left her mouth._

_A dark figure stepped into the circle of light. He removed the hood of his cloak and gazed at Bloom with dark piercing eyes. "I am Ciaran, the dark wizard of the Theistic Wizards. I've come to warn you that the universe tends to try and put the balance back in place itself."_

"_And why would you tell me this?" Bloom's eyes narrowed as she stared the wizard down. She hated it when big, pompous, powerful beings came around and talked cryptic messages. This guy really got on her nerves._

"_You should be grateful. You have some time yet, little princess, considering the evil coming your way. Enjoy it while it lasts." Ciaran turned his back to her and flicked his hand at her in an arrogant wave. "Until we meet again, little princess." He laughed as he disappeared…_

Bloom awoke gasping, Ciaran's laugh a haunting echo in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Plans

Sky sat in disgruntled silence as he sat once again through another of Queen Serel's speeches. Once again, the woman was targeting the royal family of Sparks. Once again she was targeting Bloom. And Sky struggled to keep from objecting.

"You saw with your very eyes what sort of creature came after her." Serel's cold gaze swept over the crowd. "She continues to anger forces beyond our imagining!"

"Bloom has returned from the Death Realm and has agreed to take her rightful place as the heiress to the Sparks throne. There is no argument for it, Serel!" Miriam said exasperatedly.

"Oritel made a foolish gamble his daughter was going to return from the clutches of death itself." Serel said calmly, ignoring Miriam's outburst.

Sky redirected his attention to Bloom. She sat quietly and diligently like the most proper of princesses. Her blue eyes, so expressive and such a lipid blue, caught his. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but he knew it was of no use.

"The council had been in agreement that Danwin was the next heir for the Sparks throne before that little incident with the demon!" Serel stated angrily. "You can't just give and take the right Oritel! We need a definite answer!"

Sky sat up straight. They agreed Danwin would have the throne? Why would they have done that? "Oritel has given you the answer, Serel. Bloom is the next heiress by right, by law, by birth, and by blood. Oritel can't just tear the Bloom's right from her either. Danwin can rule the Morrcale realm once he becomes of age." Sky looked at Serel and fought shivers as her ruthless gaze pinned him on the spot.

"And you cannot blame Bloom for the creatures that have come after her. That would be like asking King Sky to politely ask Yoshinoya to leave him alone." Radius said boredly. The room erupted in laughter. "Come off it, Serel. You've been on the same subject for the last two months. Go back to your rants on martial affairs. Don't you have a war to start with some realm?"

Serel flushed and shot Radius a glare. "You dare to talk to me so while I hold the floor, Radius?"

Sky looked toward Bloom, grinning. His grin faltered when he realized Bloom didn't see the humor in Serel's embarrassment. He watched her stand up and clear her throat. "These meetings aren't held to perform stand-up comedy, King Radius of Solaria. I suggest we get back on track. We have a number of important issues left to discuss." Bloom sat down, her face emotionless. But Sky wasn't fooled by her mask. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Something deeper than inter-realm affairs was bothering her. Something worse was on her mind.

* * *

Stella was laughing as she walked out of the auditorium with Layla and Nabu. "Go back to your rants on martial affairs! Leave it to Daddy to turn a meeting around! I almost fell asleep listening to that woman."

"She won't give up on ruining Bloom. Bloom hasn't done anything to the Morrcale realm. What do you think her aim is?" Nabu looked at Layla.

Stella watched Layla look at the floor. "I don't know. But I think it's more than just having her son take over Sparks. She had something planned and she's trying to salvage it." Layla's eyes flashed as she looked up at Stella. "If she tries anything to physically hurt Bloom I'll hurt her."

Nabu put a hand on Layla's shoulder. "I'm pretty sure Bloom can handle herself. She's wrestled with demons before. The devil's mistress shouldn't be too hard for her."

Stella shook her head. "We can do something about the physical attacks Nabu. I mean, a Solarian sun blast here and a moon beam there would do the trick. But we can't do anything about the verbal and the emotional attacks! You know, attacks like those that Serel threw around there in the meeting? And those are what's really getting to Bloom. You can see it in her eyes."

"She can put up defenses against any magical attack thrown at her, but she allows herself to be affected by mere words." Layla shook her head angrily. "She's been handling this royal shit for two weeks now. Call for a time out I say! We should call together the Winx and the Specialists and have ourselves a day out!"

"Sounds good!" Stella flipped open her cell phone and dialed Flora. "I'll call the girls! You and Nabu call the guys. We'll meet up on that beach in front of the Fruitti Music Bar and have ourselves a good time." A real good time, Stella thought to herself as she thought of sipping a fruit smoothie with Brandon. She should wear the green two piece swimsuit for sure, but should she do something with her hair?

Nabu laughed. "It'll be great to hang out with the guys again. Not that I'd trade that for time with you Layla."

Stella lost her train of thought as she watched Nabu lean down and kiss Layla passionately. "Uh, Layla? Nabu? What happened to calling the guys?" She heard Flora pick up the phone and focused on Flora's voice. "Hey Flo!"

"_Did you just use Flo?"_

"Yes I just used Musa's nickname for you…what it's cute!" Stella said.

"_Okay, okay, please tell me you called for a good reason." _

"Yeah I called for a reason! Do I ever call for a bad reason?" Stella asked.

"_Well, you usually call about shoes, or a dress, or you appearance. Even Brandon."_

"No it's not shoes! It's got nothing to do with my appearance! Or those other things!" Stella snapped.

"_Yeah right."_

"What do you mean yeah right!? It's about hanging out! Do you want to go to the beach with the rest of the guys and girls or what? We're going to that one in front of the Fruitti Music Bar."

" _So it is Brandon-related…" _Stella rolled her eyes as Flora's giggle resounded from the phone._ "Sure, sounds like fun. I'll meet you there."_

Stella snapped her cell phone shut and turned to see Nabu and Layla still kissing. "The things I put up with…" Stella sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Destinies**

Roxy flipped mindlessly through her textbook trying to appear as though she were studying. Across from her sat her roommate, an amiable air fairy named Canace. Canace was chattering away about some new spell they had to be studying for Ms. Griselda's class. Above them rose the tastefully designed architecture of the Alfea College for Fairies, casting a large shadow over the grounds.

"Roxy? You're not studying…" Canace cast a glance toward Roxy.

Roxy shrugged and snatched her cell phone from the grass. She wished Aidan would call her or text her, anything to get out of the study session. "It's a Saturday Canace. We should be doing something fun, like going shopping, you know?"

Canace shook her head. "You can I guess, if you want. I need to study. If I'm planning on being a good queen to my people I need to pass Alfea with honors." She picked up her book and continued to read.

There was a sudden whoosh of air as a levibike whipped passed the two girls seated on the grass. The bike came to a sudden halt and the rider took off his helmet, revealing himself to be handsome boy with dark brown hair and chilling green eyes. "Studying are we?" Aidan smiled.

"I'm studying. Roxy's practicing her professional page turning." Canace sniffed. "She's not going to get anywhere at Alfea if she continues to refuse practical studying habits."

Aidan sat next to Roxy and put an arm around her. "She'll be fine. Roxy's a very smart girl." He kissed Roxy's cheek and Roxy flushed.

"Thanks." Roxy mumbled and self-consciously snatched her book off the grass. After everything she and Aidan had been through together, she still felt like a nervous wreck around him. "And I was studying…"

"Yeah. The grass, the trees, the buildings, my hair, your cell phone, basically anything that wasn't your meta-physiology book!" Canace snorted and glanced at Jaden, then Roxy. "You know I'll probably do better studying by myself. I'll leave you lovebirds be." she said slyly as she grabbed her books and jaunted away from them.

Roxy tried to tell her to stay, but she left too fast. "Well, then, leave me." She muttered. She looked up into Aidan's jade eyes. "How's Red Fountain coming along?"

Aidan sighed. "Same as usual. I continue my life as the outcast of the students. Just because I've got magic and they don't. That and I get private lessons from Saladin. They're jealous."

"Yeah. With a group of hormonal boys, you tend to get the jealous types. Then there are the jock types. Then there are the nerds. Don't forget the popular ones, they'll kill you." Roxy rolled her eyes. "Trust me. I've seen it all before. Earth high schools are a bitch."

Aidan raised an eyebrow. "Harsh word."

"Well, they are!" Roxy blushed.

"That's high schools in general." Aidan corrected her. He fell back into the grass and looked up at the clouds. "I don't know if I'd still be going to Red Fountain if you weren't here at Alfea."

Roxy glanced at him. He looked so relaxed as he stared at the blue skies above them. "Sure you would. You want to become a better wizard. And you'd want to continue your studies about the Theistic Wizards. You'll be the leading expert on them someday."

Aidan smiled. "Nah. I'm through with the Theistic Wizards. My destiny was fulfilled. I helped to get Bloom out of the Death Realm. I helped with the impossible." Aidan sat up and looked at Roxy.

"There has to be more to your destiny than that." Roxy bit her lip cursing her too forward personality.

Aidan just kept looking at her with those intense green eyes. "Maybe you're right. Maybe there's more to my destiny than that." He leaned in close and cupped Roxy's chin. Roxy's heart throbbed. She held back a squeal when he gently pressed his forehead against hers. "Will you make my destiny more?"

Roxy's mind scrambled to find something witty and charming to say, but nothing came to mind. She just looked up into his eyes, then something past him caught her gaze. She jerked back and shouted "Aidan! Look out!"

Aidan whipped around in time to see a large creature about to attack. He tumbled out of the way and Roxy leaped to her feet. The creature made a hissing noise and ran toward Roxy. "Light ray!" Aidan cried and a magic blast hit the creature. It disassembled into thousands of tiny bugs.

"Eeew! What was it!?" Roxy turned toward the Alfea school and gasped in horror. Hordes of the creatures were attacking the school and it's students. Faculty members were running out and shouting commands, but the students' fear of the creatures created total pandemonium. There was screaming, shouting, and… hissing. "I mean, what are they?" Roxy pointed and Aidan followed her gaze.

His eyes widened with shock. Then he shook his head. "I don't know, but we've got to help them." Aidan ran toward the school, Roxy following him.

"Wind slice." Air sliced past Roxy and Roxy saw Canace in the air. "Roxy transform." Canace shouted.

Roxy threw her hand in the air. "Let's go!" Magic flowed through her and she felt it transforming her. Her Believix shimmered on. Wings sprouted from her back. "Tiger roar!" Roxy shouted and threw out her arms. A loud roar filled the air and threw two of the creatures to the ground. They burst into hordes of creeping, crawling insects.

"_Caesa Incisus!_" A creature about to attack Roxy was torn to shreds before her eyes. "Careful Roxy!" Ms. Faragonda called.

"What are they, Ms. Faragonda? Where did they come from?" Something wet hit Roxy on the nose and Roxy looked up to see dark, angry clouds.

Ms. Faragonda threw another attack that exploded upon impact, sending showers of bugs through the air. "They're called the Army of Decay. It's an army that rises up from dark magic. A powerful army, but we have dealt with them before. They aren't unbeatable."

"Where did they come from? Someone sent them? Why did they send them? How do we stop them?" Roxy shot questions as fast as she threw magic.

"They can only be summoned by someone bearing the Dragon Fire power. But I don't understand…" Ms. Faragonda was cut off when she was suddenly swept off her feet by a blast of blazing, hot fire.

Roxy squeaked. "Ms. Faragonda?!" She rushed to the woman's side. Ms. Faragonda lay unconscious. Roxy looked up angrily to see who shot fire blast and she was dumfounded when she saw who had done it. "You?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Immaturity and Love**

"I wonder what could be taking them so long." Flora commented as she stirred her smoothie with her straw. "Roxy usually loves meeting up with us here. You'd think she'd jump at the chance to hang out."

"Not if Aidan's involved." Layla smiled slyly. "I'm not too worried about Roxy . I'm more worried about Bloom. I wish we knew where she is."

Flora could only nod. She looked down at the beach and watched as Brandon and Riven were thrown off their feet by the surf. "The boys are always ecstatic about going to the beach."

"Yeah. When I called Riven he got all excited like a two-year-old. It's pretty strange considering his personality." Musa smirked. "Whatever gets him out of his grouchy mood."

"Stella? I thought Oritel said he was going to claim Daphne as the next heiress after Bloom? What's all this talk about Prince Danwin?" Tecna asked, changing the subject.

Stella shrugged. "I dunno. Someone's lying. Either it's King Oritel or Queen Serel. I'm betting on Serel. I don't think that woman ever knew how to tell the truth." Stella sipped her shake and grimaced. "Ouch. Brandon's gonna want revenge for that one."

Flora looked back toward the boys. Nabu, Riven, and Timmy had banned together and thrown Brandon headfirst into the surf. "Oh, your boys are so immature. Someone's going to get hurt!"

"Naah." Layla waved her hand. "Men are like children. You can tell them no, but they aren't going to listen. They have to touch the hot burner to believe it."

"Not everyone can have such a mature guy like you Flora." Stella commented.

Flora glanced to where Helia sat in the sand sketching. "Yeah. He's mature alright."

"Not mature enough to pop the question." Musa noted.

Flora smacked Musa in the arm. "Helia will ask when he's ready. Don't judge him. Riven will probably never ask you. You two have all sorts of troubles with your relationship."

Stella laughed. "Yeah! You can only imagine what it will be like when he asks too! Hold on…I've got this one." Stella set her drink down on the table and cleared her throat. She put her fists on her hips and glowered at Musa. She spoke with a guttural voice and her nostrils flared with each grunt. "_*grunt* _Musa. _*grunt* _We've been together for a while now. _*grunt* _And I'm such a jealous jerk that I don't want you with any other guy but me. _*grunt* _So here's my proposal. Marry me. _*grunt grunt*_"

The girls all burst out laughing. Musa flushed and sunk down in her chair. Flora covered her mouth to mask her own fit of giggles.

"You had him to a tee!" Layla gasped. "Although his grunts are a bit less like the squealing oink of a pig and more like the growl of a territorial dog!"

"Alright. Alright." Musa was smiling. "Maybe my guy isn't Mr. Perfect either. But whose guy is?"

"Bloom's guy is close." Tecna pointed out.

"Well, the girl had to have some luck, right? With all that's happening to her, Sky's a blessing." Stella said. "But I guarantee you if he was here right now…" Stella looked toward the guys burying Timmy in the sand, "…he'd be in on the immature activities, too."

* * *

Daphne wandered the palace, exploring her home and making comparison to the home she kept in her memory. She'd done this same thing several times now, but she couldn't get over how different things were. She couldn't get over the fact she was alive again either. It was all…so much…

When Daphne closed her eyes she could remember being a young child, roaming the halls she made her playground. She could remember herself sneaking away from her private tutors. Daphne could remember her father throwing her up in the air and hugging her tight; her mother would sing her to sleep and brush her hair.

Then there was the first time she met Mathias.

Daphne stopped her strolling and leaned against the wall. Tears filled her eyes as the memories of Mathias poured into her mind. The first time they met, the first time he admitted he liked her, the first time they kissed… Daphne could still recall how he looked.

_Daphne collapsed in the grass, her once perfectly arranged gown now wrinkled and dusty. Mathias fell next to her, panting and laughing. He smiled at her, his gray eyes sparkling with delight._

"_We lost them." Mathias said gleefully._

_Daphne just nodded and focused on calming her breathing. "That we did. I'm going to pay for it later, but it's worth it. Father is going to be furious."_

_Mathias rolled onto his stomach and looked at her. "Your Father thinks far too much about Sparks tradition." He fiddled with the sharp blades of grass. "Your handmaids are too nosy anyhow."_

"_Yes. Only mother understands. Father just doesn't see that I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need all this care." Daphne fingered the hem of her ruined dress. "Was it necessary to take out my guards?"_

_Mathias gave her a look, trying to portray innocence. "You did want to get away. I merely assisted you."_

_Daphne stared up at the perfect blue skies. "Yes, you assisted me. And I'm grateful for that."_

"_I live to help the helpless." Mathias stated with bravado._

"_You did not just call me helpless." Daphne threw him a dark look._

"_Heh-heh…no…maybe." Mathias said teasingly._

_Daphne grabbed a fistful of grass and threw it at Mathias. She did this a few times and he let her. "Fight back coward." Daphne laughed._

_Mathias shook the grass out of his hair. He grabbed her around the waist and Daphne struggled. The two went rolling in the grass until he was above her smiling ruefully. "Helpless." Mathias grinned._

_Daphne laughed and smacked him in the chest. "Alright. I'm a damsel, we get it!"_

"_No you don't." Mathias leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. The moment was brief, but it was enough to get every nerve in Daphne's mind and body sparking. He pulled away and gave her a small smile._

_Daphne flushed in surprise and looked up at him. "What was that?" She immediately felt dumb after saying it._

"_Daphne…I'm in love with you." Mathias said, his eyes no longer sparkling with glee. Rather they were serious. "I always have been. And I'm not just saying it because we're betrothed. I loved you from the moment I saw you as a child and I always will after this."_

_Daphne just stared up at him. "Mathias…" she reached up and placed a hand against his cheek, "I love you, too."_

Daphne turned a corner and ran right into someone. She shook her head to get out of her daze and looked up. "Sky? What are you doing here?"

Sky looked at her in surprise. "Sorry. I was looking for Bloom. You haven't seen her have you?"

"No." Daphne shook her head. "She ran off after the meeting. She said she had to do something or another. I doubt you'll find her if she doesn't want to be found." Daphne added.

Sky sighed in exasperation. "Well, thanks anyway. I'll just go meet up with the guys and the girls anyway." He walked away, defeat apparent in the slump of his shoulders.

Daphne watched him go with pity. Bloom liked to be alone a lot now days and her being alone caused everyone to worry. She walked to the window and gazed longingly at the very hill she'd had her first kiss with Mathias.

A dark figure stood on the hill and looked down upon the palace. Daphne blinked and looked again. The figure was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- SOS

Aidan slowly awoke and groaned. He carefully pushed himself to his knees and glanced around. Then he remembered.

Alfea lay in burned out ruins. The towers had been pulled down, the windows broken, the beautiful doors blown to bits. All the students had been gathered in the front of the main steps. Many of them huddled together, crying in despair. Others were unconscious like he had been. Most of the unconscious were the faculty, but a few were brave students willing to fight to the finish.

Then Aidan saw Roxy. She sat quietly, her face pale and her eyes blank with shock. She held a very faint Ms. Faragonda in her arms and blankly stared in the distance.

Just beyond the defeated Alfea residents stood hundreds, maybe thousands of creatures. They all stood tall and erect, motionless, as if waiting for a command. They were like an army.

"The Army of Decay." Aidan whispered. He'd read of them of course. How they were made from dark magic. How they could reform by taking in decay from the ground. How they could only be summoned by a person bearing the Dragon's Flame.

Aidan crawled over to Roxy. "Roxy? Roxy? Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Aidan placed a hand on Roxy's shoulder.

Roxy turned from her haze and looked at Aidan. "You're okay?" Tears filled her eyes and she began to silently cry.

Aidan grabbed her hand and held it in both of his. "Roxy. I'm alright. But you…"

"I'm okay." Roxy whispered, her eyes glancing toward the creatures nervously. "I just don't believe any of this."

Aidan could only nod and glanced once again at the creatures. Their eyes, bug-like and glowing red watched the defeated fairies and faculty, waiting for any sign of fight from them. "The Army of Decay has been summoned once more. But who…"

Before Aidan could finish his question Roxy sobbed. She shook Ms. Faragonda's limp body. "Ms. Faragonda…please wake up. You need to stop her."

"You know who did this?" Aidan stared at Roxy. "That person would have to have the Dragon's Flame."

Roxy whimpered. "Please. Please Ms. Faragonda. Nobody here is strong enough to stop her. Nobody."

"Who is she Roxy?" Aidan squeezed her hand. "Roxy, who has done this? Tell me."

Roxy looked at him. "Bloom. Bloom has done this."

Aidan stared at her in disbelief. "No. No. Why? Why would Bloom do this? Out of anybody she'd be the last one…" Aidan looked toward the army and back at Roxy. "Are you sure that was what you saw? It wasn't Baltor or a miraculously revived Lilith? Roxy."

"Yes! Yes Aidan! It was Bloom. She summoned the damn Army of Decay." Roxy pulled her hand away from him and cradled Ms. Faragonda. "She blasted Ms. Faragonda and took you out from behind. She single-handedly defeated each and every one of the teachers, then she rounded up the students here and left her soldiers to guard." Roxy looked helplessly upon Ms. Faragonda. "The students can't do anything. None of them were strong enough. But Ms. Faragonda…she's more experienced. Maybe she could take Bloom."

Aidan shook his head. "Bloom's grown beyond her teachings here at Alfea, Roxy. I don't think any of the faculty here would be strong enough. What we need to do is send out an SOS to the Company of Light. Only the Winx girls can stop her now."

"How am I going to send an SOS? If we even try magic, those damn decay monsters attack." Roxy glanced at the things and shivered.

"Why would you use magic? Your cell phone is in your pocket." Aidan pointed out.

Roxy stopped and reached into her pocket, extracting her cell phone. "Oh. Yeah."

* * *

She sat calmly in the headmistress' chair and gazed about the office. Books lined the walls of the tastefully designed room. She stood up and walked over to the shelves gazing at the titles in search of some clue involving her destination. "Hall of Enchantment. I need the Hall of Enchantment." She angrily waved her hand and the books on that shelf clattered to the floor. An orb appeared in her hand and she looked at it. "Find me something on the Hall of Enchantment! Now!" The orb lifted from her hand then fell to the floor and died out.

She sighed and sat back down in the headmistress' chair. "Why can't I find anything? Damn these trickster goodies. Always hiding everything. I need guidance in this situation." She spun the chair around and walked over to the large window facing out over the grounds. Her gaze landed on the pathetic forms of her prisoners all huddled with one another, some lying around knocked out. "How can they be so trickster-like and so weak at once?"

She stared at the scene for only moments more then turned away. Flames rippled from her hands and she waved them above her head, forming shapes and patterns with the light. She spoke words in Latin. "_Tenebris excitare demon flamma draconis. Egredere ex damnato te ad perniciem. Per virtutem et ipsam quodammodo flammam ex quo nati sunt tibi ego voco. Veni ..." _She stopped her chant as a dark vortex opened before her. The skies outside grew dark and lightning flashed. An ominous feel filled the air and she watched in glee as her prisoners outside panicked. "Yes… let the universe feel it. The awakening…" She sighed dreamily and turned back toward the vortex. Her pulse raced now, her blood hot with what power she had. "_Awaken dark demon of the Dragon's Flame. Come forth from the destruction to which you were condemned. By the power of the very flame from which you and I were born I summon you. Come…"_

The vortex snapped and hissed in response to her chanting. The air became heavy with the power of her magic and the essence of the vortex. A figure slowly began to rise up out of the dark void. Magic crackled in the air. She gave a delighted giggle.

The figure finished its ascent from the void. A huge crack snapped through the air and reverberated through the universe. She laughed, and with a lazy wave of her hand the dark vortex vanished. The figure was kneeling before her and gasping.

"Did you enjoy rebirth, Baltor?" She cooed and laughed. "I've brought you back to help me. If you don't, I'll send you back to the hell I sent you before. In a more painful way…"

Baltor glanced up at her, still breathing hard. His eyes widened in shock. "Bloom?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- Million Dollar Questions and Answers

One second, Nabu sat laughing as he helped the guys pat down the sand they'd buried Timmy in. The next, Nabu was on his feet searching the skies. He'd just felt a disturbance in the magical ether, a huge crack snapping through the universe. And it was definitely evil.

A quick glance toward the Winx girls told him they'd felt it too. But the guys were oblivious to the disturbance. But they'd noticed Nabu staring at the skies.

"Did you all feel that?" Flora called out.

"It didn't feel right, whatever it was." Stella commented. "The million dollar question is: what was it?"

"What are you talking about?" Brandon asked, glancing at Nabu.

"Something happened. Something big. Something evil." Nabu said. He leaned down and began digging Timmy out of the sand.

"Great. After we just got done dealing with evil too. Will we ever get a break?" Riven grumbled. He looked up at the sky. "Is a free weekend too much to ask?"

"Riven? Who are you talking to?" Musa walked over. "The birds?"

Before Riven could answer, a cacophony of ring tones filled the air. Everybody pulled out their cell phones and glanced at their screens. Nabu pulled his own out and glanced down at the ID.

"Finally! I got an answer from Roxy!" Flora said excitedly.

"Me too!" Stella exclaimed.

"Me three?" Layla looked quizzically at Musa.

"Yep." Musa nodded.

"Mmm-hmm." Tecna agreed.

All the girls glanced at the guys. Helia just shrugged. "She texted all of us?"

"No." Timmy coughed in embarrassment. "My mother texted me." He fiddled with his phone. "Wait! She texted me too!"

"Why would she text nearly everyone when one text would suffice? It's unusual." Tecna frowned. "Unless she's trying to start another forward again. Those are so annoying."

"It's an SOS!" Stella shrieked. "Roxy's in trouble!"

"What?" All the girls glanced again at their cells.

"Crap! She's at Alfea!" Musa yelped.

"Who'd attack Alfea? We've taken care of all the bad guys!" Flora looked about ready to cry. "How much more of this do we have to take!?"

"It's gotta be those damn witches. No matter how many times we kick their rears, they always get back up again!" Layla growled angrily. "We can't stand around here freaking out. Let's move!"

"We can't just dive in without some kind of plan Layla. We'll end up with a belly-flop otherwise." Nabu said calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He's right. If we lack a plan we're basically handing ourselves over. And if it's the witches, they'll be ready for us." Helia agreed.

"We can't wait around to figure out a damn plan! By the time we figure one out, those witches will have hurt Roxy somehow! She's a Winx girl and we don't leave them hanging." Musa shouted.

Another ring tone went off. Everybody glanced down at their phones again. They all looked at one another, trying to figure out whose phone it was.

"It's mine." Nabu said quietly. He flipped the cell open again and glanced down. It was another message from Roxy. And the three words he read nearly killed him.

_Bloom attacked Alfea._

* * *

"I thought you said you told Serel Daphne would be the next heir to the throne! Why would Serel claim you told her Danwin would be the next heir!" Miriam asked angrily.

Oritel sat quietly in his desk chair, trying to focus on the paperwork piled high before him. He was finding it to be a bit hard to accomplish with his wife ranting in front of him. He set down the file he'd been reading with a sigh and glanced up at Miriam.

"Are you going to answer me." Miriam asked. "Oritel, you've never hid anything from me before. Why this? Why now? Why would you start having secrets now of all times? After everything that's happened too…"

"Miriam." Oritel said Miriam's name calmly and quietly.

Miriam stopped her rant and glanced at him. "I'm worried about you Oritel. That's all. This behavior is so unlike you…" Miriam walked around the desk and grabbed Oritel's hand. "…it's scaring me. It's scaring Daphne. Tell me Serel is lying. Tell me you didn't tell her you'd name Danwin the next heir."

Oritel glanced down at his and Miriam's hands and pulled away. Miriam gasped. "Why Oritel? You knew Bloom was going to come back."

"No I didn't." Oritel stood up and walked to the other side of the room, his back to Miriam so she wouldn't see the pained look on his face. "I thought she was gone Miriam. I had lost faith. I figured she was a lost cause and I had to tell the Queen of the Morrcale realm something. I couldn't tell her the next heiress was to be my long-dead child." Oritel sighed. "Danwin is a good man as far as I can tell. At the time I figured he'd be a good king to the people of Sparks."

"He may be a good man, but his mother is a pushy old bat!" Miriam grumbled. "As far as I can tell, she has Danwin under her thumb."

"I don't think so." Oritel said.

"Why won't she let this go? Bloom is back now, thus is the next heiress. If not, then it's Daphne's right. Why does Serel think her son still has a right to the throne of Sparks?" Miriam stood before Oritel. Her green eyes gazed up at him. "You know, don't you. You know why."

Oritel took Miriam's hands into his own and squeezed them. "I do."

"Why?"

"Danwin's father was a close friend of mine back before Sparks fell. If you recall, he fell during a fight at the hand of Lilith."

"Yes. I remember. Serel was devastated. It was tragic indeed, especially for the Morrcale realm. Serel had to fight to keep the throne for her child." Miriam looked up at Oritel. "What does any of that have to do with now?"

"I made a deal with Danwin's father. Serel was there and agreed with it." Oritel paused.

"What deal?" Miriam asked. "What kind of deal could possibly motivate Serel so?"

"Betrothal. Miriam, Prince Danwin of the Morrcale realm was Bloom's betrothed before Sparks fell." Oritel stated.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- Off

Roxy looked up in fear when she heard a door open. Out walked Bloom and a man Roxy didn't recognize. Aidan's hand squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, but Roxy didn't feel reassured. She was scared, tired, and sore. But mostly, Roxy felt betrayed.

Bloom stopped and mentioned something to the man next to her. Roxy noticed how he kept glancing at Bloom, as though he couldn't believe it either. He nodded at something she had said.

There was a soft moan and Roxy glanced down at Ms. Faragonda in her arms. Ms. Faragonda's eyes opened and she looked around. "Roxy? Are you alright my dear?"

Roxy nodded and bit her lip. "Yes…I'm scared and shocked, but I'm alright."

"Ms. Faragonda."

Roxy flinched and slowly glanced up at Bloom approaching them, the man following at a fixed distance. Obviously he didn't want to get too close to Bloom. "Stay away from her Bloom." Roxy warned.

Bloom ignored Roxy and continued to gaze down at Ms. Faragonda. "It's a good thing I didn't kill you. I have need of you yet." She made a lazy motion toward the man. "You remember Baltor, don't you Ms. Faragonda?"

Ms. Faragonda just kept her eyes locked on Bloom. "Oh, Bloom. What have you done?"

Bloom's eyes flashed angrily. "I've done what I should've done a year and a half ago. I've finally discovered my true purpose! I'm not supposed to be some puppet for someone else to direct!" She turned and looked over the fearful students. "I've got my power for a reason. That reason is to rule the magical universe."

"No. No Bloom." Ms. Faragonda shook her head. "That's not your purpose."

"Why else would I have all this power!" Bloom shrieked angrily. She threw flames into the air, scaring several of the students. One began crying and Roxy became angry.

"Stop it Bloom! This isn't like you at all!" Roxy shifted Ms. Faragonda to Aidan and stood up. "What's happening to you Bloom?"

"This has always been me Roxy. I always knew I was like this deep down. It's about time I let my true nature out." Bloom laughed, a cold, cruel laugh that froze Roxy's blood. Roxy felt her heart ache and held back tears. "Baltor. Go take out that damn Red Fountain School and make it snappy. I don't have eternity you know."

"Sorry to make you wait then."

Roxy looked to her right and spotted Nabu running at Bloom, his scepter at hand. He leaped up and slashed downward toward Bloom with magic, but Bloom dodged. Nabu landed lightly on the ground and faced Bloom "What the hell, Bloom?"

"What the hell to you too, Nabu of Tides." Bloom sneered and threw flames toward him, but a shield flared to life between the two of them.

Nabu glanced toward Roxy and gave her a small smile. "You alright there Roxy?"

"Yeah, now that you guys are finally here." Roxy didn't smile back. She just returned her gaze to Bloom.

"Bloom!" Stella landed next to Nabu, her Believix glittering in the sunlight. "What are you doing? What is this?" Stella motioned toward the looming Army of Decay with her hand. The rest of the Winx girls were all in the air, their wings beating to keep them aloft. The Specialists all stood, weapons in hand, their looks of disbelief locked on Bloom.

"This? This is me finally expressing my true self, Stella. Baltor, take them out." Bloom made her way over to where Ms. Faragonda struggled to her feet. "Ms. Faragonda is going to give me some answers."

"Baltor?" Stella jumped when she noticed Baltor. "Baltor!"

Baltor just said nothing, and his face remained emotionless as fire sprang to life in his hands. With one swift sweep of his hand, flames rose up like a high wall between the rest of the Company of Light and Bloom. Then, and only then did he allow himself the smallest smirk. Roxy fought the sick feeling in her stomach and focused on her powers instead. "Believix!" Roxy cried out.

Immediately the magic within her burst forth like the roar of a lion and Roxy felt her confidence and strength increase. Her clothes melted away, revealing a sparkling fairy outfit made up of shorts and a one sleeved shirt. As soon as her wings popped on her back, Roxy took to the air and tackled Bloom.

"Roxy!" The voices of her friends were all crying out her name, but Roxy ignored them, focusing instead on taking Bloom down. Bloom threw her off easily and Roxy hit the ground not too far off.

"You've got gall enough to challenge me, Roxy." Bloom snarled angrily. "Heat storm!" she shrieked.

Roxy yelped. "Enchanted cloak!" A sphere of energy deflected the raging fire Bloom had given off, but only for seconds. Roxy was hit by the attack and she shouted out in pain.

"Back away from her!" Aidan's voice cried out from beyond the flames. The flames stopped and Roxy saw Bloom scrambling to her feet. Aidan was on his hands and knees gasping, his arms shaking.

"Aidan?!" Roxy rushed to his side. "Aidan? Did she hurt you?"

Aidan looked up at Roxy. "I'm…fine. What's…wrong with her?"

Roxy was about to answer when she saw the rest of the Company of Light locked in a fierce battle with Baltor. How could he keep them all so busy? Was he that strong. Her gaze fell back to where Bloom had Ms. Faragonda cornered against the school. "I have to help Ms. Faragonda." Roxy sprinted toward them.

"Where is it, Ms. Faragonda! Where is the Ultimate Power! I know it's no longer in Relix!" Flames ignited in Bloom's hands and she threw them at Ms. Faragonda directly. Ms. Faragonda threw up a weak shield, her body shaking with effort. "Fine! How do I get into the Hall of Enchantment? If you don't give me something Ms. Faragonda, it will be your students paying for it!" Roxy saw Ms. Faragonda's eyes widen in horror…and confusion?

Roxy ignored this. Enough was enough and Bloom needed to be stopped. "Wolf talon!" Roxy screamed. Her magic erupted in the shape of a wolf and attacked Bloom, throwing her away from Ms. Faragonda. Roxy noticed the Army of Decay seemed to flicker after she hit Bloom.

"Winx convergence!" The shout of the Winx girls echoed through the grounds.

Roxy turned and saw Baltor hit one of the walls of the school and fall to the ground. He got back up to his feet and was about to attack again, when he noticed Bloom on the ground. "Damn." Baltor hurried to Bloom's side and muttered something. The two of them disappeared in a flash of light. The Army of Decay disappeared as soon as they were gone.

"Roxy!" Flora was next to Roxy in a heartbeat, checking Roxy over in a motherly manner. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Are you scared sweetie? Roxy? Roxy? Say something!" Flora squeezed Roxy's shoulders lightly, her green eyes filled with worry.

"Bloom…she's…how'd I…Flora…" Roxy stuttered. Her heart was still racing, her hands shaking, her head aching. Everything had just happened so fast.

Flora hugged her tightly. "Just calm down. Everything will be all right. Deep breaths."

"She'd breathe better if you weren't strangling her Flo." Musa called. She and Layla were kneeling next to Ms. Faragonda, who was still shaking badly.

"Ms. Faragonda!" Roxy ran over and fell to her knees next to the woman.

"You fought very well Roxy. Very well, and very hard." Ms. Faragonda gave her a weak smile.

"I know I did." Roxy bit her lip. Then she noticed one thing about everything that had just happened in that fleeting fight. "But Ms. Faragonda…I shouldn't have been able to beat Bloom at all."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- Realities

_She was running. Her heart pounded in her chest, in effect of both fear and the running. Her bare feet smacked the ground beneath her, allowing rocks and twigs to dig into their smooth soles. But that did not stop her. She pushed back her thoughts about the pain and pushed forward._

_The woods were foggy and dark, like some illustration from a horrific story. Trees rose up on either side, their bare branches reaching out for her like claws, grabbing at her torn clothes and mussed hair. The sky beyond the skeletal trees was black as ink, starless and moonless._

_She tripped over a stump and fell to her hands and knees, the friction between the ground and her skin causing her to yelp. A sudden feeling of deja`vu overcame her and she almost laughed. She'd been in this situation a number of times before! And here she was again, running for her life!_

_A roar echoed through the woods, rattling the barren trees. The roar was so horrendous, so unreal it shook her down to the core. But she knew the creature behind her was most certainly real. And this knowledge alone kept her running, running like a frightened rabbit. A role she knew too well._

_A cruel voice spoke in her head and shivers shook her. Time's up…time's up…_

_Tears filled her eyes and she ducked her head and continued her rush. It wasn't fair. It was not fair!_

_A price has to be paid. Pay up…_

_Why did she have to pay the price? Why was she always paying for something? It wasn't fair. It was not fair!_

_There was another terrifying roar and she stumbled into the trunk of a tree. She hugged the tree tightly, leaning against it for support. Her legs were so sore from all her running._

_She could hear the breaking of branches and trees as the monster in pursuit plowed its way through the dense woods. She pushed off from the trunk, forcing herself to sprint once again. A branch swiped across her face and something hot trickled down her cheek. Something especially sharp stabbed into her foot and pain lanced its way up her leg. She bit down hard and hissed through her clenched teeth to keep from crying out._

_Time's up…pay the price…_

_The monster sounded even closer. There would be no outrunning the monster. She stumbled to a halt and faced the direction of the roars. She wanted no more running. All she wanted was to get it over with. She took a shaky breath and held it, waiting for her fate to come stumbling through the trees._

_She didn't have too long to wait. The creature galloped through the trees and stood before her, fangs bared and black eyes glinting with what little light there was. It slowly approached her growling. "You know why I am here…"_

_She cleared her throat and looked the creature in the eye. "I have an idea why you're here, but no…I'm not entirely sure why you're here." Her heart beat fiercely in her chest when it snorted and growled angrily at her._

"_Mortals never have respect for us. They are foolish for standing up to us when we work so hard to keep the balance of things." _

"_I won't go quietly!" She said defiantly, sounding more confident than she actually was._

"_Of course not." The creature swiped at her with a sharp claw, but she threw herself backward., his claw catching her loose dress instead. It pounced at her and she dodged behind the large trunk of a tree. "Fighting fate is a futile act. That would be like taking the entirety of the universe into your small human hands."_

_She fell back on her butt and scrambled back into the bulk of a stone. The creature approached her slowly, its claws outstretched, reaching for her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself mentally for the pain that would follow._

Then she woke up to an ominous crack that seemed to shake the universe.

* * *

"Oritel?" Miriam grabbed her husband's arm suddenly. Across the table Serel and Danwin grabbed hold of the table to keep their balance. As suddenly as the disturbance began it ceased. "What was that?"

Oritel's eyes narrowed as he glanced about the room. He'd only ever felt that kind of released power once before and that was when Bloom came through the portal from the Death Realm with Nabu and Daphne. "I've only felt that once Miriam…"

Miriam's green eyes locked on his. "Something's escaped the Death Realm?"

"Well whatever it was, it's over now. Can we get back to business?" Serel took her seat in an overly gracious manner. Danwin stood quietly next to her. "Now about Bloom and Danwin…"

"Bloom's accepted the engagement to King Sky of Eraklyon, an engagement I deem to be much more suitable." Miriam said defensively. "She's perfectly happy with being Sky's queen. I can't say the same about your son."

"She doesn't even know Danwin, Miriam. I doubt you even told her about the engagement. And you can't just abandon a deal you've made with the Morrcale realm. By Morrcalean law…"

"We'd openly be declaring war. Yes we know." Oritel stood and walked over to the window. "But take the situation into consideration. Your husband, with whom we'd made the deal with, is dead. Miriam and I were trapped in Obsidian. Bloom was left to live the life of a mortal without exposure to royal society and magic. We never even formally announced the betrothal to Domino or Morrcale! It makes no sense to go on with it."

"It does if the _formal _papers were drawn up and signed." Serel smiled. "We must go through with it."

Oritel was about to answer Serel when his vizier, Vladimir, burst into the meeting room. "Your majesty! Reports are coming in from Alfea! They say the Army of Decay has attacked."

"What?" Oritel stood, staring at his vizier. "That's impossible unless someone with the power of the Dragon…"

The vizier nodded gravely. "That's just it sir… they say… well… they claim it was Bloom sir."

Miriam and Oritel abandoned Serel and the vizier in the meeting room and stormed down the halls and up flights of stairs. "She went upstairs to rest. I'm sure of it!" Miriam kept pace with her husband. "She was tired after that tirade Serel delivered earlier today. Oritel." Miriam grabbed her husband's arm and pulled him to a stop before he could burst into Bloom's room. "We doubted our child once before and look where it got us."

Oritel blinked as he stared at his wife. She was right of course, but there couldn't have been anyone else except Daphne. And he knew Daphne would never… Oritel felt guilt rise up. He trusted his oldest more than his youngest. He always believed the worst for Bloom. "Then who…"

"Father? Mother?" Daphne caught up with them. "What's with all the commotion?"

Oritel gave Miriam a look. Daphne stood before them. Only one member of the royal family wasn't present. Oritel grabbed on to the doorknob and opened the door into Bloom's bedroom. And it was vacant.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9- Bloom?

Sky tapped his foot impatiently as he stood on the patio of the Fruitti Music Bar. Inside he could hear the chatter and laughter of other customers. The sunlight was intense and the waves lapped at the shore just yards from the patio. It would've been a perfect day to hang out with friends on the beach…

…if they were there.

With a sigh, Sky checked his phone for the tenth time. Stella had sent out a mass text and called the guys and girls to ensure they'd all meet at the Fruitti Music Bar. Snapping his cell phone shut, Sky turned on his heel and headed into the bar.

"Worst day in the universe…" Sky muttered as he sat down at a table. First Serel had the vicious speech about Bloom, then Bloom disappeared, then the guys and the girls don't even show up where they said they would… it seemed nothing was going to go right.

"Hello Sky!" Klaus walked over, wiping a glass out with a towel. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Nah. Klaus? Did you happen to see the Winx or the Specialists?" Sky questioned.

"Yeah. They were hanging out on the beach. Then they all left all of a sudden. Don't know why." Klaus rolled his eyes. "The least they could've done is brought their glasses in."

"They just left?" Sky furrowed his brow. "That doesn't sound like them. Usually they're pretty good about bringing in their glasses and trays."

Klaus shrugged. "Yeah, well not today. Whatever. If you're not going to order anything I gotta go help the other customers. Kinda miss you boys and Roxy helping out around here." Klaus wandered off, leaving Sky.

Sky opened his cell again and opened his text messages. He scanned the list for the hundredth time in search of an answer from Bloom. And there was nothing. He was about to snap it shut again when he noticed a text from Roxy that had sat unopened for a few hours. "What does she want?" he wondered and accessed the text. "SOS? What is she giving an emergency text for?" He got out of his chair and was about to head out when his cell started emitting Stella's high pitched rendition of "You're the One."

With a grimace, Sky accepted the call. "Stella? Where are you guys? I've been waiting for…"

"Sky? Thank the stars. You are a near impossible man to find, you know that? Even Riven isn't as off-the-radar as you are some days…" Stella chided.

With a roll of his eyes, Sky answered her, "Stella. I'm where you told me to be. Why aren't you guys here? I've looked like an idiot sitting here alone for two hours."

"We got a problem." Stella said in a serious tone, which was only used rarely if you knew Stella. Although she'd been using it more often lately, what with all the trouble Bloom had been getting into.

"What is it? Is it about Roxy's SOS? Did something happen at Alfea?" Sky asked, suddenly worried.

"Ummm… well… you're going to have a hell of a time believing this…" Stella said cautiously.

"Stella!"

"Okay… ummm… Sky. Bloom attacked Alfea."

* * *

The students were working their hardest to restore the ruined Alfea, but they didn't carry with them a sense of hope as they worked. Layla sensed only despair, hurt, and confusion from all the students. And she couldn't blame them. It's what she was feeling too.

Bloom was their friend. Bloom was a protector of the magical universe. Bloom was essentially good. And suddenly Bloom was destroying Alfea, hurting her friends, and summoning powerful evils like she'd discovered a new hobby. Layla held her head in her hand as she dealt with a sudden feeling of shock.

"It makes no sense." Sky murmured for perhaps the thousandth time.

"Would we lie to you Sky?" Musa asked, leaning back against the wall. "We saw her, with our own eyes. Nabu and Roxy went one-on-one with her. As impossible as it seems it's true."

"Maybe she's reverted to Dark Bloom?" Tecna suggested hopefully. Layla nodded. Dark Bloom they knew. Dark Bloom they could handle.

"No." Flora's lip quivered. "Her eyes… her eyes…" Flora buried her face in her hands.

"Her eyes didn't change." Musa finished. "It was Bloom's blue eyes glaring at us. It was Bloom's Dragon Fire magic at work. It was Bloom's voice…" Musa cut off and looked at the floor. "… it was Bloom."

Layla glanced toward Roxy. The young girl's eyes were puffy from crying and she said nothing. Aidan sat next to her with his arm around her, but he had a more pensive look about him. As did Nabu. Nabu stood glancing out the glassless window, watching the disheartened students and faculty at work. He himself had said little since his fight with Bloom, but he had a look in his eyes that confused Layla. It also worried her.

"You said she was asking about access to the Hall of Enchantment." Nabu finally said in a careful tone. "And the Ultimate Power."

Surprisingly Roxy broke her silence and looked at Nabu. "Yeah. That's what she was threatening us about."

"Which is strange." Everyone turned and saw Ms. Faragonda standing at the door, being supported by Professor Palladium. Palladium led her to a chair and left the room. "Why would she ask for access to things she already knows about?"

Flora gasped, clapping her hands before her as though she were about to pray. "You're right! Bloom has access to the Hall of Enchantment. You gave us keys."

Stella snapped her fingers and jumped up from her seat. "And Bloom knows the Ultimate Power is trapped in Relix. It's where she left it. Why would she ask where it is? Why would she say it's no longer there?"

"Maybe she was talking about the portal? Perhaps she attacked Alfea to get the keys the pixies used to open their gateway to Relix? The pixies entrusted them to you, Ms. Faragonda. " Tecna mentioned.

Ms. Faragonda sighed. "I don't think so. At the power level Bloom's attained, I'm most certain she could've opened her own portal. Remember, she can use her Dragon Fire to create. The Prima and the Death Realm have taught her how to use her powers to the fullest capacity."

"But you also need to remember I beat her." Roxy stood up and crossed her arms. "I shouldn't have been able to do that if Bloom's this all powerful fairy now. Bloom's not the same. Something has happened to her. She's weaker somehow."

"Well if she's weaker then it makes sense she'd come here to get the keys." Layla murmured. The room fell quiet as everyone shifted uncomfortably, thinking about the idea of Bloom. "Obviously she wanted that power, so she attacked Alfea to get a hold on those keys. She felt she'd get bonus points if she took the energy stored in the Hall of Enchantment. And to top it all off…" Layla shivered, "… she summoned Baltor."

"Ever since her powers began growing exponentially, Bloom's been this entirely different person." Tecna shook her head. "Darker, more secretive, nearly insane… she's changed from the unknowing Earth girl we all knew and loved."

"Well one thing about her hasn't changed at all…" Nabu stated. Everyone in the room turned to look at him. He was still at his post by the window and he turned to the group with a grim expression. "…she's always been the tenacious one. Determined as hell." He pointed out the window. "She's back."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10- What's the Deal?

The crack that had reverberated throughout the magical universe had woken her. She knew what it meant. She knew what she had to do. So she scrambled out of her bed and raced to her balcony overlooking the Domino Palace grounds. Gripping the balustrade, she closed her eyes and worked on sensing the source of the crack. Her powerful magic reached out, surveying everything and finding the trail the reverberation had left. Within seconds she knew where it had come from.

"Alfea." Bloom whispered. "The demon came through a portal at Alfea."

Bloom had felt that kind of portalling energy twice before. Once falling into the Death Realm. Once escaping the Death Realm. This one felt very strong though. The powerful release of energy could only mean that the balance between the two realms was breaking down, just like Ciaran and the monster from her nightmares had warned her. What kind of creature escaped, Bloom didn't know. But it had to go back or they risked breaking the delicate balance completely, bringing about a universal apocalypse. Which wasn't exactly something Bloom wanted to handle.

"Believix! Zoomix!" Bloom closed her eyes as the familiar energy of her Believix magic washed over her, carrying her away from her balcony to Magix. When the feeling began to subside Bloom opened her eyes and landed in a crouch. She was surrounded by tall trees and thickets on all sides. She whipped around, trying to identify where she was. "Shoot." she muttered. "My portalling is off for some reason. Where the hell am I?"

A rustling in the bushes made her jump. She faced the rustling, flames in hand, preparing herself for any possible situation. Déjà vu washed over her as memory of her nightmare replayed in her mind. Fear shot through her and her flames sputtered out. "No…"

"I gave you a warning, a chance to make things right, Bloom." It was the same low voice and held that same growl. Bloom fought back shivers as it spoke again. "You could've turned yourself in. Now you've forced me to physically drag you back to the Death Realm."

Panic overcame Bloom's fear. "Don't! Something's escaped the Death Realm again! Something powerful! I have to save Alfea! My friends are there…"

"Don't waste my time. Don't give me excuses. You're that powerful thing that escaped the Death Realm. You need to be stopped before the balance is completely upset." Bloom saw a shadowy figure move from the bushes behind the trunk of a tree. "I want you to know that I don't want to do this. The fact that I've waited so long was a favor to your sister…"

"Daphne? What about her?" Bloom slowly stepped to the side to try gain a better view of the figure. "You don't want to return her to the Death Realm, do you?"

"NO!" The figure snapped, making Bloom flinch. "I'm grateful you were able to break her out… I'd never let the bastards of the Silver Kingdom take her back. Never." He sounded fierce as he voiced his denial.

Bloom frowned. "What?" She tried to approach the figure, but the figure stepped back further into the dark shadows. "What's Daphne to you? Why would you feel compelled to holdback because of her?" The voice said nothing. "Well if you care enough to hold back, at least hold back a little longer! Please, my friends need me." Bloom pleaded.

"I can't… you don't understand." Bloom could sense the desperate struggle in his voice as he spoke. "I made a promise that I'd take you back. In return the Silver Kingdom would leave Daphne alone. As her sister you should be willing to save her. She did the same for you eighteen years ago!"

"Who are you?! You're not the same monster that chased me in my nightmare! That thing was merciless!" Bloom re-summoned her fire and took aim at the figure.

"I was trying to convince you in your dreams. But you wouldn't listen… please, Bloom!" The voice was pleading with her now and Bloom felt confusion rise up within her. "Let me take you back!"

"Who are you!?" Bloom took several steps forward before the figure could react and the light from her fire lit up the figure's face. The figure flinched in the light and blinked rapidly like he hadn't seen light in a long time. She could see it was a man with dark brown hair and glinting gray eyes dressed in a long black cloak that blended in with the shadows all too well. "Tell me who you are!"

Shifting uncomfortably in the light, the man looked at her. "You need to go back."

"I'm not going back without whatever it was that broke out." Bloom said stubbornly. "So either we battle it out right now, which I doubt you'll win because I'm supposed to be uber-powerful, or you can let me go and handle the situation accordingly." She closed her fist and the fire went out. "Believe me, something terrible has broken through and needs to be stopped. I care about Daphne and I'll do anything to keep her alive. But I can't leave my friends with whatever it is that's free."

"So if I let you deal with this… problem you'll come back with me?" The man asked quietly, skeptically.

Bloom opened her mouth to say yes, but hesitated. Memories of the horrors she'd faced in the Death Realm haunted her in the back of her mind. She thought about her parents, her friends, Sky… they would all be left to mourn her yet again. She closed her eyes tight and held her breath as she shoved back her fears and worries. "Yes. Yes, I'll go back. But Daphne and Nabu stay."

He nodded slowly. "That's the deal then. But I can't just let you go off by yourself. I have to keep my eye on you. I'll be in the shadows, following you no matter where you go to hide. If you've lied to me about this evil, then I'll drag you back no questions, no mercy." He turned his back to her, looking straight ahead into the shadows of the undergrowth. "Alfea is to your left as the crow flies. Don't take any detours. I'll be watching you." He moved to leave but Bloom stopped him with one last question.

"Who are you?" Bloom asked again.

The man hesitated, then glanced back at her. "My name is Mathias. And I'm a servant to the Theistic Wizards." Then he was gone.

* * *

Taking Mathias' directions, Bloom ran through the growths of bushes and darted around the large trunks of trees. Her heart pounded harder in her chest the closer she got to Alfea. She was getting that much closer to helping her friends all while getting that much closer to her impending doom. So many feelings were fighting for control within her; fear, fury, melancholy, worry, determination… they all made her heart heavy and her head ache. She tried her best to ignore them all and focus on saving the universe, again.

'Will I actually die this time?' Bloom wondered as she ducked a large branch reaching out over her path. 'Or will they just throw me in body and soul again and let the demons have at me?' She redirected her thoughts and found herself thinking about her mission instead. 'What powerful thing broke out of the Death Realm? How am I going to be able to stop it if it's that powerful? I couldn't have broken out myself, could I have?' She used her momentum to vault herself over a huge log lying in the middle of her path. 'Why is everything going to hell again? Why me?'

Suddenly the density of the forest began to let up and Bloom found herself fighting less foliage. She fought her feeling of dread and latched her being on her feelings of anticipation. Finally she reached the forest border, where the treeline stopped at the bottom of a tall hill. Over that hill would be Alfea.

Bloom paused and listened. Everything sounded so quiet, which made her especially nervous. Was she too late? Had the creature already taken out Alfea and destroyed her friends? She scrambled to the top of the hill and gasped as her fears were realized.

Alfea lay before her in ruins.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Shifting Alliances

"What in the universe…" Bloom whispered as she approached the remains of the Alfea school. Her blue eyes were wide as she took in the carnage. "So much destruction…"

Some Alfea students who were working on clearing a pile of rubble suddenly noticed her approaching and stopped what they were doing. They backed away slowly and Bloom stopped her stride and stared at them curiously. She glanced behind her and looked at the students again. 'They look afraid. What's got them so scared?' She cautiously took one more step forward and the students screamed and ran for the nearest intact section of Alfea. 'They're scared of me?'

"Leave them alone Bloom!" shouted a familiar voice. "You lay one hand on any more of my students and you'll regret the day you came to know the magical universe." Bloom turned and saw Ms. Faragonda being supported by Timmy and Tecna. Despite the fragile state she was in, Ms. Faragonda was staring her down, as though she were daring her to try anything at all. "Haven't you done enough to my school?"

'Haven't I?' Bloom blinked then frowned. 'What are they talking about?' "Where is it?" Bloom called out, deciding to err on the side of caution and not move toward her friends. "Where is the thing that's done this?"

"We're looking at her." Roxy said quietly. She looked tired and her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying. "Why, Bloom?"

'I did this?' Bloom's thoughts began to swirl and she felt a wave of confusion and fear run through her. 'I couldn't have… I was at Domino…'

_You're that powerful thing that escaped the Death Realm. _Mathias' comment echoed through her head. _You need to be stopped before the balance is completely upset._

Mathias' voice was replaced by Ciaran's cold voice. _The balance will never be achieved until your destiny is fulfilled little princess. _Bloom covered her ears and closed her eyes tight, her pulse pounding in her ears. _Many different futures have been foretold. In both the good and the evil futures, you are a key role. You could be the universe's savior like you've been thus far, or its bane like you were nearly two years ago now._

'Am I the universe's bane?' Bloom asked herself silently. She looked back at her friends, who'd surrounded her. 'Did I somehow do this?' Her gaze turned again to the ruins of Alfea. Then her gaze fell to her hands. Splaying her slender fingers before her, she stared at her hands and felt the energy hum within her. 'The balance between good and evil has been shifted…'

Stella's voice interrupted Bloom's train of thought. "Solar flare!"

Bloom looked up and a bright, shining arc of light energy came at her. With an instinctive roll out of the way, Bloom avoided the attack. She glanced up and saw the Winx were now in the air, fully transformed and glaring down at her. Layla raised her hands and threw a blast. "Tidal force!"

A wave of morphix energy rose up before Bloom and towered over her. Bloom threw up her hands as the energy fell upon her and with one calculated sweep of her arms the energy disappeared completely. She turned toward her friends again. "Don't try that again." She warned. Then she realized how her warning was to be taken.

"Call of Nature!"

"Sonorous scream!"

Musa and Flora's attacks came flying at her and Bloom concentrated her energy again and dissipated them easily. "Seriously…" Bloom began when she was cut off by the flash of a weapon swinging toward her. She barely dodged it and swung her foot around, making contact with Riven's stomach and sending him flying. Helia and Brandon closed in on her, with grim expressions and weapons drawn. Bloom leaped up as their weapons swung in to land blows. She landed lightly on Brandon's sword and pushed off his weapon to vault over Helia, landing with cat-like grace behind him. "I don't have time for this!" she snapped irritably.

Bloom whipped around to escape when hands clamped onto her wrists and held her fast. She looked up into Sky's intense blue eyes and almost cried when she saw the fear, doubt, and uncertainty reflected in them. "Sky…"

"Enough Bloom." Sky said resignedly. "You've done enough."

Anger bubbled up in Bloom then and she narrowed her eyes. She had done enough, and yet here she was being treated like she was unwanted and dangerous. "I know I have Sky. You should know too." She glanced coolly down to where his hands encircled her wrists. "You'd be wise to let me go and continue anyway."

"I can't let you continue." Sky said softly, his pain evident in his voice. "You've hurt the one's you love with all of this Bloom. Stop. Let us put an end to this."

Bloom's heart fell as she listened to Sky's words, but she retained her frustration and fury. 'How can you, of all the people in the magical universe think I've done this?' Bloom thought angrily. She fought her outrage and spoke in an even tone, "I need to stop whatever it was that came through the portal…" Bloom's own voice began to crack and her vision began to blur as tears formed. She was losing her anger to confusion and anguish. "…I need to stop it whatever the cost. Even if you all don't trust me, I still love you. And I'll do anything to protect you all." With that said Bloom drove her knee into Sky's gut and broke from his grasp as he crumpled before her. She turned from her friends and scrambled as fast as she could into the forests.

* * *

"It wasn't there."

Dropping out of his brooding thoughts, Mathias glanced up and saw Bloom approach him. Her demeanor suggested she was shaken and uncertain about something. Immediately he disregarded his observations and returned his focus to his purpose. "Then we return to the Death Realm." He turned and prepared to open the portal when she stopped him.

"No."

With a sigh, Mathias turned back to the young fairy. "We made a deal."

"I said I wanted to take care of the evil that came through that portal first." Bloom walked straight up to Mathias and looked him in the eye. "I haven't stopped it yet. I-I'm not sure what it is even." When she bit her lip and looked down, Mathias could have sworn she looked just like Daphne. "You have to understand, I'm doing this to protect Daphne as well as my friends."

"From what I understand, these are the same friends who broke you out of the Death Realm. I saw how they treated you at Alfea. They attacked you, said they wanted to put an end to you." Mathias said calmly. "Why help them?"

" Because they're confused! They think I attacked Alfea, but I didn't! I…" Bloom trailed off as uncertainty flashed in her blue eyes. "…didn't." She took a deep breath and looked at Mathias again. "Give me time. I will go back to the Death Realm… just give me time to hunt down this thing and stop it. Come with me if you have to, just give me the time."

Mathias examined Bloom. "You're very determined, that's for sure." 'Like Daphne.' he thought to himself. "What makes you think you're innocent in all of this, Bloom? How do you know you aren't doing this?"

Bloom was silent for a moment as she regarded Mathias. "I don't… but if you're with me and I do… do something, stop me. Drag me back to the Death Realm. I don't care, so long as I take care of everything for my friends and family."

'You're as selfless as your sister too…" Mathias chewed his lip in thought, then nodded in agreement. "Alright. I'll help you hunt down this thing. We'll take it and you back to the Death Realm." He turned and waved his hands to open a portal when her voice interrupted him again.

"Thank-you." Bloom said quietly.

Guilt seeped up in Mathias and he fought it down as best he could. 'She shouldn't be thanking me,' he thought as he opened the portal, '…I'm leading her to her doom.'


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Dark Bloom

Daphne sprinted after her parents down the hallways. "There's absolutely no way Bloom would have done this! Believe me!"

"Who else would have Daphne? You're here, Miriam's here, Baltor's gone, Lilith's gone… there's no one left." Oritel sounded bitter and sad. "No one but Bloom."

"But Daddy!" Daphne gave up on convincing her father. "Mother! You surely don't believe Bloom could have done this!"

Miriam glanced at Daphne, then Oritel, then the floor. "I… I don't know what to believe, Daphne." She wrung her hands before her in anxious uncertainty and bit her lip. "Who else could there be?

"Shame on both of you…" Daphne clenched her fists and stopped trailing her parents. A mix of disbelief and anger rose up in her and she snapped after her parents. "…she's my sister!"

Miriam and Oritel both stopped and turned to look at Daphne. Daphne just stared back, holding both their gazes with a look of defiance that matched if not outdid the looks Bloom was known for. "You've done this to her before! You blamed her for my death! She told me you blamed her! As her parents you ought to know what she's capable of doing!" Miriam was about to interject but Daphne stopped her. "If I were a suspect you wouldn't hesitate to defend me! How's Bloom any different? She's your daughter too…"

Her parents cast sidelong looks at one another and Oritel approached Daphne carefully. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You know I want to believe in only the best of Bloom. You don't understand that there is a worst of Bloom though…"

Daphne flinched and pulled back from Oritel. "What are you saying?"

Oritel's brown eyes shined with internal struggle and sadness. "It was brought to Miriam's and my attention that Bloom had turned in a particular situation involving Lord Darkar a while back. We believe that such a situation has come to pass again and we need to stop her."

"Turned." Daphne furrowed brow and glanced at Miriam. "What does he mean by turned?"

"Bloom said that you never knew about the situation with Lord Darkar and she never wanted you to know." Miriam said softly. "Darkar was able to turn Bloom over to his side and manipulate her in an attempt to obtain the Ultimate Power. She became a creature called Dark Bloom, an evil, power-hungry creature that only wants to conquer and destroy."

"Not Bloom!" Daphne exclaimed in horror.

"Not Bloom." Oritel reassured her. "The Bloom we love and know would never be capable of such tyranny. But Dark Bloom is capable and only happy to do so. The last time Bloom turned, her friends were lucky to have been able to break the spell. Or so they thought."

"You think Dark Bloom still resided within Bloom after she broke free of Darkar's spell." A confusing mix of fear and faith took over Daphne as she tried to make sense of what her parents were saying. "And now she's trying to come back from within Bloom."

"Bloom's very powerful right now Daphne. She needs to be… stopped." Oritel said sadly.

"Oritel… there's got to be another way!" Miriam took hold of Oritel's hand and looked up into his face. "A way to stop Dark Bloom without hurting Bloom!"

Oritel looked at Miriam, then at Daphne. "If only." Then he turned and strode off, leaving Daphne and Miriam to watch him and struggle with remorse.

* * *

Sky sat hunched over in his chair, his head held in his hands as he stared at the floor. Everything was falling apart. Everything was being torn apart. All because of Bloom. His Bloom.

A whistle sounded beyond his vision. Riven's voice followed, "Did her knee do that much damage, man? Are you ever going to be able to walk again?"

Sky rolled his eyes and sat up, glaring at Riven. "Got some snide comments to make? Well I don't have time for them. I've got a fiancé to kill."

Riven snorted. "You always assume my purpose in life is to antagonize you Sky. I've generally got better things to do than spend time kicking your ass out of the dumps."

"What?" Sky stood and crossed his arms, staring confused at Riven. "You're trying to tell me you've been helping me all along?"

"Sky…" Riven walked up until the two of them were face to face, a smirk plastered on his face. "Since when has anyone been able to get anything done in the sad, sorry-ass, dejected state you're in now? I purposely taunt you to rile you up so you can actually get something done, your royal hind-sightedness… well, okay… I do it because I get a kick out of it too. But you've only been able to help Bloom as much as you have because I pissed you off enough to do something productive."

"Right… okay Riven! Since you've been ever so helpful with saving Bloom, what's your idea on stopping her?" Sky sneered as he walked past Riven to exit the room.

"Don't." Riven said quietly.

Sky turned and stared confused at Riven again. "What?"

"It's Bloom, Sky." Riven turned to face Sky. "It's not quite her and you know it."

"I know it." Sky murmured. "But I have to do something about it. Before something else bad happens. The Bloom we love and know wouldn't want these things happening."

"The Bloom we love and know just totally kicked your ass, Sky." Riven said with a straight face. "But she looked horrified by what happened. The Bloom that attacked Alfea, however, was beaten by Roxy and laughed at the destruction she caused. There's more than one side of the Bloom coin at play here."

"What are you saying? Like she's suffering from some kind of multiple personality complex?" Sky thought about it for a second and what Riven had been getting at finally dawned on him. "Dark Bloom."

Riven nodded slowly. "I'm guessing Bloom's powers are getting harder to control. Therefore, Dark Bloom has become stronger and harder for Bloom to suppress."

"Shit." Holding his temple between his thumb and forefinger, Sky's thoughts scrambled to understand what it was Riven was telling him. " Tecna was right. It's starting to make sense now. Bloom couldn't do those things, but Dark Bloom sure as hell could. She's been taking Bloom over and using her powers to cause trouble. She attacked Alfea, she summoned the Army of Decay, she summoned Baltor…" Sky looked at Riven. "It's why she couldn't figure out about the Hall of Enchantment or the Ultimate Power. Bloom knew about those things, not Dark Bloom."

"Bloom must've still been inside during the fight with the Winx. It would explain why Flora said she saw Bloom's eyes." Riven frowned. "Sky, we were barely able to break Bloom out of Dark Bloom before. What if Dark Bloom's too strong this time? How are we going to set Bloom free?"

"We will save Bloom." Sky stated with determination. He turned back to door when it opened to reveal Flora standing before him. "Flora? What is it?"

"Sky… it's Bloom. She… she's attacked Eraklyon."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 - Gone Too Far

Stories of the origins of the magical universe came to mind as Brandon took in the brilliant scene before him. The Great Dragon was said to have breathed its fiery breath and brought forth whole worlds and creatures, establishing the expanse of the magical universe's being. The Dragon's Flame was a source of life; it created and designed, bringing everything into reality. The story used to enchant him back when the Winx struggled to understand what it was the Trix were after. To think Bloom protected such an awe-inspiring power left Brandon with feelings of amazement and disbelief.

The amazement was transformed into revulsion as Brandon came to understand that the Dragon Fire could also be used to destroy what was created. The disbelief held fast and tortured him as he was forced to consider that his friend Bloom harnessed the great power she was supposed to protect to hurt and destroy. He could only imagine what his best friend Sky was going through as they arrived on Eraklyon.

The Eraklyon palace was up in flames. Fire roared and hissed, cracking walls, shattering windows, collapsing sections of roof. People were rushing out of the building, screaming and crying. Shouts and cries could be heard from within, coming from the individuals who were trapped inside and dying from dehydration, smoke inhalation, and third degree burns.

Brandon felt sick to his stomach as he took in the horrors of the scene.

The Winx tried to take action, but they couldn't get into the building because the fire was too intense. They tried to put out the fire, but it was far too big and hot for any of their spells to take effect. Stella and Musa even called upon rain to aid in containing the fire at least.

Nothing worked.

"The fire is magic based." Tecna shouted over the cacophony. Her short pink hair hung limp and wet from the downpour summoned by Musa and Stella, but her eyes were sharp and calculating. Brandon could practically see her mind at work to solve the issue at hand. "The magic is too strong for us to handle! Even convergence won't be able to stop it!"

"We have to try! Those people…" Roxy started, her voice cracking at the last moment. She looked especially pale in the flickering light, rain dripping down her face and masking her tears.

"Don't have a chance!" Layla said angrily. The red-hot flames that engulfed the palace reflected and danced in her eyes, making her look dangerous. She clenched her fists and threw out a morphix attack that dissipated when it came within the vicinity of the flames. "Bloom is gonna pay for this… this is…"

"Murder." Flora uttered, her bottom lip trembling. Brandon saw she was shivering, whether from cold or horror was beyond him.

Musa and Stella landed. Brandon caught Stella's eyes and saw the pain and fear reflected in them. He wanted so much to hold her and tell her everything would be alright, but he really had no idea what was in store for them. He didn't want to make any promises, especially where Bloom was involved.

"How's Sky!?" Stella called to him. "Where is he?"

"With some the palace guards and soldiers on the other side! They found his mother and many of the servants gathered in the courtyard." Brandon said. "Nobody knows where his father is." An idea occurred to him as he spoke. He glanced back at the burning building and felt fear take its grip on him. "God…"

Stella frowned, then her eyes widened as she caught on to what he thought. "No!" Stella glanced back at the burning building. Her brown eyes were bright. "No! Bloom wouldn't… she couldn't! Brandon tell me Sky's father isn't!"

"Isn't what?" Flora asked.

Brandon bowed his head. "Let's find Sky and make sure he's okay. He and the other specialists were handling things on the other side of the palace! We've done all we can here!" And for the first time, it wasn't enough.

* * *

"Hello, lover." She smiled as the figure whose back was to her stiffened. Slowly he turned around, weapon in hand. His blonde hair was wet and dripping in the rain, and his uncertain blue eyes looked her up and down. Behind him rose the flames of the Eraklyon palace. "I know it's only been hours, but I missed you." she crooned sweetly. Then she laughed.

His grip visibly tightened on his weapon. "Bloom. Or should I say Dark Bloom." Sky's voice was too controlled. He was obviously holding off a fit of rage.

Dark Bloom fought off her own bout of rage. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sky. I am Bloom."

"No." Sky's voice shook now. "No you're not. Bloom wouldn't do this. Bloom wouldn't hurt her friends. Bloom wouldn't use the powers she swore to protect to destroy and hurt others."

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. How much more convincing did these people need? "But I have Sky! Look what I've done to your precious home! Guess where your father is!"

The underhanded taunt worked and Bloom got the reaction she was waiting for. Sky swung his weapon at her then and Bloom jumped back. As she dodged she continued to throw words at the distraught boy. "I did this! I attacked Alfea! I brought down Ms. Faragonda! I couldn't stand around ignoring my destiny any longer!"

"Destiny? Bloom! You weren't destined for evil! You weren't destined to hurt and destroy!"

'He's fallen for it.' Bloom thought to herself as she avoided another of his futile attacks. Giddiness shot through her and her confidence in who she was was bolstered. "You're right! I'm destined for greatness! I'm destined to rule! This universe will bow down to me and the power I deserve!"

Sky stopped attacking and stared hard at her. "The power you deserve? Bloom wouldn't say that because she knows she doesn't deserve the amount of power she's got. You're not as powerful as Bloom. You were so easily defeated by Roxy and you don't know where the Ultimate power is. Hell, you don't even know how to access the Hall of Enchantment! You'll never be as powerful as the real Bloom. Power is not your destiny, Dark Bloom!" He pointed his sword at her. "Let her out now."

Bloom laughed. "You're a fool to think you can save me when I don't even need saving!"

"YOU'RE NOT BLOOM!" Sky roared.

"But I am…" She smiled coyly at him, "… Baby."

She was about to relish the look of shock and hurt in his eyes when there came a disruption. "Dionysus' Vines!" A forced, lilt of a voice cut through the roar of the fire and the patter of rain. Vines shot up and wrapped about Bloom's limbs. She screamed and flames erupted from her, disintegrating them. "Give it up, Bloom!" Shouted the little flower fairy.

"Morphix chains!" Layla shouted. Chains whipped forth from her outstretched hands and caught Bloom by the wrists. "You've gone too far, Bloom!" Layla yanked forward on the chains, pulling Bloom forward to her knees. "It's over."

Bloom growled angrily. "Not far enough! I've got plans even greater than Eraklyon!" She glared at the chains and they fell to dust. As the chains disintegrated, Bloom felt a sudden weariness. She'd used too much energy. "I'm going to kill every single one of the people I loved." She snapped her head back up and saw the people approaching her stumble back in shock. "Every damned one!"

"Not if we can help…" the Solarian was cut off as a magic blast took her out from the side. A figure appeared before her, a silhouette against the blaze of the Eraklyon palace. Baltor came forward and grabbed her arm, quickly pulling her to her feet. "Let us leave, Baltor." As Baltor's portal drew them from the realm of Eraklyon, the last thing Bloom saw was the broken look on Sky of Eraklyon's face. "It's all falling into place."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14- Her Empty Dark Side

Baltor knew a lot of things about people. He knew how to read them, how to pinpoint their desires, how to manipulate them… he'd come across a wide assortment of people coming from both sides of the good and evil spectrum, all of which would sway at some point. One only had to appeal to their dark side, or force them to accept it when faced with moral dilemma. Nobody was exempt from their own darker humors…

Except for Bloom.

Or so he thought.

A manic whispering echoed through the cavern. Baltor glanced toward the dark corner Bloom was huddled in. She was muttering angrily to herself, something she'd been doing since she first summoned him from death's grasp. She spoke in a low growl, speaking a foreign language he wasn't all too familiar with. He finally identified it as Dacian, an extinct language known only to the Ancient Magic users. Then he understood exactly what was going on.

He'd heard of Dark Bloom, of course. The Trix had whined about being so close to some Ultimate Power. Annoyed by their relentless moaning, he looked up what it was they were going on about, then he understood. Darkar had gotten to Bloom. Darkar was able to create Bloom's dark side and turn her to it in order to use her for his own device. Brilliant plan, but like all situations involving the girl it backfired.

But now she was back. Dark Bloom was somehow strong enough to repress Bloom and take over. It hadn't been Bloom who attacked Alfea. Bloom didn't pull him from the reaper's clutches. The good princess didn't just attack the realm of her beloved fiancé.

It was all Dark Bloom.

"I need to kill them. They need to die." Dark Bloom finally spoke English. Baltor glanced at her. "She will suffer and end. Then I'll be strong enough…"

Baltor frowned. "So what's you're next move? You can't keep rushing in on these reckless excursions. You need to plan your next moves accordingly."

"This would be a whole lot easier if I had power!" Dark Bloom snapped at him. "But you've been useless!"

"You're the one who insists on toying with Bloom's friends…" Baltor said.

"My friends!" she screamed, her eyes wide. Baltor saw them flash, turning blue, then amber, then blue again. "They need to die! They betrayed me! They took what was rightfully mine! Sky…" she paused and Baltor could see her mind struggling, "…he deserved what happened."

"Huh…" Baltor eyed the deranged girl before him. She looked like Bloom, sounded like Bloom, but she lacked Bloom's presence. The person before him was most definitely Dark Bloom. "…you're right. They betrayed you." he said carefully. "They all deserve pain and suffering for choosing her over you. You deserve the power."

"Yes…" Dark Bloom muttered. "It's mine. I summoned it… I want it."

Baltor turned from her and stared hard at the cold dark walls of the cavern. He'd struggled to understand why it was he bothered to help the girl at all. Did feel indebted to her for bringing him back? Did he pity her? Perhaps he felt something for her?

Now he understood. He could use her. Her thirst for power and ability to repress his only opposition worked for him. He didn't know what mentality the girl was suffering from, but that factor was inconsequential. The way she was could work to his advantage. He could use her to raid realms, steal powerful magics, put fear into the general public…

But Dark Bloom in her addled state was most certainly correct about one thing. Before they went about taking over there was one small nuisance that had to be taken care of. And Baltor was sure they could do it so long as they played their cards right. Dark Bloom could be used to defeat the damned Company of Light once and for all.

"You can have it." Baltor said with a smile. "They're obviously hiding it from you. They need to be dealt with."

"Yes." Dark Bloom looked up at him, once-blue eyes now glowing an eerie orange. "They will be dealt with. I will get the power I deserve."

"You're going to have to deal with those who dare to deem themselves your superiors, however. Those who've used you and tried to suppress your powers." Baltor clasped his hands behind his back.

"Who?" Dark Bloom looked at him.

"The Company of Light."

* * *

"Not far enough…" Layla muttered. She stood with her arms crossed, overseeing the search of the remains of the Eraklyon palace. "Bloom is far from finished…"

"Dark Bloom." Nabu stated as he shoved a large piece of charred timber. "She said she'd kill all the people she loved…"

"Bloom plans to kill off her friends… well ain't that just peachy!" Layla growled.

"Dark Bloom was angrily ranting…" Nabu pointed out.

"Bloom has bigger plans than Eraklyon!" Layla countered, her voice rising. "What is it with you? Don't you see what she's done? Can't you understand that Bloom's finally given in to her thirst for power and wants the universe as her plaything? Why do you keep insisting it's Dark Bloom? What about her makes you think it isn't Bloom?" She turned from Nabu and kicked at a section of crumbling wall, scattering the pieces over the ruins. "I…I… look!" Layla threw her hands out, motioning at the ruins. "First Magix, then Eraklyon, then who knows! Isis, the Harmonic Nebula, Solaria, the Fifth Moon of Marigold…" Layla hugged herself. "…Tides."

Arms wrapped about her from behind and she felt lips brush against her cheek. "You're scared, but that's no reason to lose faith in one of your friends. This is Bloom we're talking about." Nabu turned Layla to face him. "Last Heir of Domino, Keeper of the Dragon's Flame, Savior of the Universe, Defeater of Death, all that jazz… Yeah she's capable of a lot. But everyone is so focused on her achievements and abilities that they all forget one piece of vital information about her."

"What are you talking about? I know Bloom…"

"She's human. She makes mistakes. She has troubles." Nabu looked from Layla and Layla followed his gaze to where the Specialists and the rest of the Winx were gathering to report. "Bloom might not be the antagonist here, Layla. What if Bloom's the victim?"

Layla looked up at Nabu. "The victim? Are you kidding me? The universe is the victim! We all saw her, we saw her eyes…"

"Her eyes." Nabu cut her off. "Yes, that's the whole basis of Bloom's conviction. Her eyes. But Layla? What did you see when you looked in Bloom's eyes? Before any of this?"

"Blue…" Layla frowned. "What was I supposed to see?"

"Really, Layla? I'm trying to make a meaningful point and all you give me is blue?" Nabu sighed. "Now I know it's hard, but try thinking a bit more abstract and a lot more metaphorical. I'm not color-blind, I know what Bloom's eye color is."

She thought harder back to a happier Bloom. "I guess I saw happiness, confidence, passion, love…"

"And what about this Bloom's eyes?" Nabu urged.

"They were blue!" Nabu gave her a look and Layla furrowed her brow as her mind raced. "Nothing… nothing." She looked up at Nabu. "Her eyes were empty! She didn't feel love or passion!"

"This girl is just a husk of Bloom." Nabu said softly. "It's not Bloom. This girl… she's desperate and empty all at once. She wants what Bloom has, but can't seem to get it."

"Dark Bloom." Layla said to herself. Footsteps approached them and the two turned to see Stella walking up to them. Her expression was grim as she hugged herself. "They found Erendor, and he's not good. Sky's distraught. The Queen is inconsolable. And the Council is having a field day with 'I told you so's. The entire magical universe is on high alert."

"So what have they decreed?" Nabu asked, Layla hearing the dread in his tone. "They're going to hunt her down and lock her away in Omega?"

"No…" Stella took a breath, her eyes shining. "They've ordered to have her hunted down and destroyed."

"No! We won't abide…" Layla clenched her fists.

Stella's eyes were overflowing by now and her voice shook as she finished. "We won't have to. They've summoned the Sicario."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - To Sicario or Not To Sicario

"We're the only ones capable of handling Bloom! We've known her the longest, we understand her capabilities better…" Sky argued with the members of the royal council seated before him. An emergency meeting had been called and as many of the heads of the realms were called to attend as possible. "Sending the Sicario after his is a big mistake!" Because his father was in critical condition, Sky was forced to represent the realm of Eraklyon alone. He alone was the only one of the New Company of Light with high enough status who could defend Bloom's case. "They don't know what they're up against?"

"And you do?" called the Queen of Popularis. "You've faced her on three occasions already and she's managed to slip out of your grasp time-and-time again. It's time that action was taken!"

Many members nodded and agreed with the queen. The council would hear none of Sky's arguments. Their minds were made up. The Sicario was to be summoned and commanded to destroy Bloom of Domino before she caused any more harm to the magical universe.

The members of the New Company of light were seated in the audience section of the meeting room. Musa watched the scene before her play out. With every argument made against Sky, with every vote for the Sicario approach, with every guilty look from Bloom's allies her heart dropped and hopes of saving Bloom grew darker.

Musa held her breath as Sky's speech got more heated. "Haven't any of you considered who it is we're talking about here? This is Bloom of Domino! She's saved the magical universe numerous times!" She turned her gaze to the Domino table where Bloom's family sat… quietly. Oritel held an impassive look while Miriam looked troubled. Only Daphne looked angry and prepared to object to the Council's decisions. If only she had the power to do so…

The King of Crystallis finally cut Sky off. "You speak of these great achievements and defend her while your own father lies in the hospital in critical condition? You'd betray your own father like that? Where do your loyalties like, King Sky? Perhaps you and the girl are in cahoots? Or maybe she's got you wrapped around her finger and she's using you…"

Musa reached over and grabbed Riven's hand, hoping to get some form of comfort. Surprisingly enough, Riven squeezed her hand and she felt her fear lessen. She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "I don't know what this Sicario is, but hearing them talking about it worries me."

Riven looked at her. "The Sicario are wizard assassins. They're the only individuals in the magical universe allowed to practice necromancy and magic assassination." he looked back toward the arguments. "They've only been used a few times in history. And they've only failed once. Apparently, some were sent after Baltor. But Miriam and Oritel had locked Baltor in the Omega dimension before the Sicario could get even close."

"How do you know all this and I don't?" Musa whispered incredulously.

Riven shrugged. "You hear a lot of rumors on the streets. And apparently Saladin was approached and asked to join one of their guilds. Helia explained a lot to me on the way over."

"Oh."

Her attention was recaptured by booming outcry. "The Council is not going to stand idly by while this overly-glorified monster threatens the realms of the universe!" shouted the King of Isis. Musa shot a glare toward the Isis table, where Diaspro sat feigning an expression of worry.

King Radius was leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling like it was the most interesting thing in the universe. He perked up. " Oh my… did the members of Isis speak? Heaven forbid you don't voice your opinions on Bloom of Domino, considering she did make a complete fool out of your self-absorbed princess."

"And where are your standings on the issue, Radius?!" The King of Isis' eyes were filled with rage. "What will Solaria decide?"

Radius was quiet a moment. Then he sat up and looked serious. "I suppose my mockery is a tad inappropriate at this time. Solaria votes for the Sicario."

Musa felt Stella tense next to her. "No." she whispered.

"Obviously, Eraklyon is against the issue. Tides?" called the King of Isis.

"We're for it." said Teredor calmly.

Musa watched Nabu grab Layla, who was about ready to leap out of her seat. Sky still had the floor, but he was quiet. Obviously there was nothing else he could do.

"What about Domino?"

"We're not voting." Oritel said flatly.

"Daddy!" Daphne grabbed her father's arm, but he ignored her.

"Probably for the best. Zenith…"

One-by-one the realms voted against Bloom. Not a single realm wanted to vote against he summoning of the Sicario. Bloom's fate seemed to be inevitable. Musa buried her face in Riven's shoulder as they called out the final realm to vote. It was Morrcale, so once they voted, the decision would be unanimous, being Domino dropped their vote. "Morrcale?"

The Queen of Morrcale held a bored expression. Then she cast a glance toward Oritel. Musa saw her interest peak the slightest. "Morrcale votes… against the summoning of the Sicario and the termination of Princess Bloom of Domino."

The court practically blew up in response. Every royal and leader was on their feet and arguing, motioning as though the emphasis of their actions would make their opinions better understood. Musa stared at the Queen of the Morrcale realm, who looked smug as she stat there.

"Oh my stars…" Stella stared at the Queen of the Morrcale realm, boggled by what she'd just heard. "…who's that woman? It sure as hell can't be Queen Serel!"

"Enough!" Oritel shouted. The entire council quieted at Oritel's outburst. He glowered at the Queen of the Morrcale realm, but Musa could see a look of relief in his brown eyes. "Without an unanimous decision, the Sicario cannot be summoned."

"So what? Our realms are supposed to wait around until she comes knocking down our front doors?" cried the King of Isis.

A voice called out to answer, but it wasn't the answer anybody in the room had been expecting.

"Why wait?"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 - Binary

"Why wait?"

The voice sent chills down Tecna's spine and she whipped around to see Dark Bloom smirking at the entrance to the meeting room. She looked smug, as though she realized her timing couldn't have been better. But at the same time, Dark Bloom looked haggard and bloodthirsty, giving her a fearsome appearance that put Tecna on edge. The whole council fell silent as they all realized who it was.

"Bloom." Oritel stared at his youngest child. He too was notably thrown by Bloom's appearance, but he still spoke her name like a loving father. "Bloom, stop this."

"Stop what? I'm only fulfilling what I've been accused of!" she snapped, her blue eyes wild. She threw her hands in the air and the doors behind her shook violently before flying off their hinges. They crashed into the wall behind the Isis table, making Diaspro shriek in fear. Diaspro's shriek obviously gave Bloom pleasure. "There. The door's been knocked down. Now be smart little royals and give in to us." Baltor stepped out behind her, bearing an impassive look, but Tecna could see he was pleased with the outcome.

"Guards!" Oritel roared.

"Dealt with!" Bloom shouted back, laughing. "Seriously Daddy? What are the measly little guards of Palace Domino going to do to me? The Great Bloom of Domino!" As she shouted her name flames rose up behind her and Baltor, blocking the exit. They spread to the walls and ceiling until the entire room was encased in fire.

"Bloom! I know you're in there!" Sky shouted. "Stop her before she hurts the ones you love."

"I've come to fulfill my promise." Bloom's eyes began flashing as her anger rose. Tecna at first thought her eyes were reflecting the fire, but she could now see that Bloom's eyes were shifting from blue to amber, blue to amber. "I will kill every damned person I've ever loved!"

"Solar beam!"

A beam of light shot toward Bloom from Stella's outstretched hands. But Bloom just waved her hands and the beam split before her, the two parts obliterating two tables. Luckily the royals seated at them had moved just in time. "You want to fight fire with fire, Stella? My best friend? Out of anybody here, you should've been at my side, fighting at my side. You should have defended me when everybody stood against me!" Bloom whipped her hand through the air and an arc of fire flew at Stella. "What kind of Best Friend are you?"

Stella threw up one of her sun shields. The blast hit her shield and Tecna watched Stella's power flicker, but her shield held against Bloom's fire attack. "Not yours, Dark Bloom!" Stella snapped. "You let my Best Friend out or you'll be sorry!"

"I'll be sorry?" Dark Bloom turned from Stella to the rest of the guys and girls. Tecna saw her eyes no longer flickered now. They were the same amber they'd been when she'd stood by Darkar and attempted to summon the Ultimate power. They reflected that same thirst for power, held that same anger, and they also showed a characteristic that convinced Tecna it was Dark Bloom facing them.

"She's being manipulated." Tecna hissed to Sky.

Then Dark Bloom attacked: a large dragon rose up and shot straight for the group. The guys and the girls scattered, throwing themselves out of the way of the Dragon blast. The Dragon exploded against the fiery wall, making the flames burn bigger and hotter. The royals truly began to panic then.

"Bloom!" Daphne and Miriam were on their feet and facing the deranged girl. "Don't make us fight you!"

Dark Bloom laughed maniacally. "Oh please, Mother! You and Daphne versus me?" She slapped her hands on the ground and flames rose up from the floorboards, racing straight for the queen and princess of Domino.

Tecna couldn't bear to watch Bloom attack anymore. She threw out her hands and summoned her energy. "Techno shot!"

Green spheres of energy erupted from her outstretched hands and hit Bloom in the back, throwing her to the ground. Dark Bloom growled, and the fire hissed in response. "You dare, Tecna?" She got to her feet and turned, hands clenched into shaking fists. Her amber eyes darkened. "Fine. You and me. You'll be the first to die." She turned to the walls and waved her hands. Flaming demons similar in appearance to the Army of Decay erupted forth and began attacking the other royalty in the room. "To keep them busy…"

"Ohhhh…" Tecna backed away in fear as Dark Bloom slowly made her approach. She'd never been strong enough to handle Bloom. She glanced around for help. Everybody was being attacked by the creatures. The only one who wasn't encumbered by demons was Oritel, who was currently caught in a battle against Baltor. Musa finally caught her eye and tried to move to help, but a demon tackled her and she screamed. "No! Musa!" Tecna shouted.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her…" Bloom smiled. She ran at Tecna and Tecna dodged out of the way. "She's not going down by the demon's work. I'll finish her off!" Flames engulfed her hands and she clawed at Tecna. Tecna weaved through the attacks, struggling to summon her own powers.

"Bloom!" Tecna cried out as one of the flames caught her arm. Fiery pain shot through her arm. "Stop!"

"I'm not going to stop!" Dark Bloom laughed.

"You're not Bloom!" Tecna dropped into a crouch as Dark Bloom swiped at the air above her. She quickly threw her foot upward into Dark Bloom's stomach, throwing the insane girl backwards into the wall. "You're Dark Bloom!"

"No!" Dark Bloom's flames flared in response to her shout. "You never knew the real Bloom of Domino! I am what Bloom really is."

"Bloom, my friend and colleague is a good person. You're this horrible little made-up figment of her that only causes pain and destruction! We love Bloom. We most certainly don't love you!"

Rage practically emanated off Dark Bloom then. Her attacks became more ferocious, backing Tecna up toward a wall of flames. Tecna tried to escape but Dark Bloom had her cornered. Before she knew it, Dark Bloom had her by the throat and was holding her within inches of the snapping flames of the wall. She struggled helplessly against Dark Bloom's grasp. "I am Bloom of Domino!"

"No. I'm Bloom of Domino."

* * *

Roxy had been fighting off two fire demons when the voice called out.

"I am Bloom of Domino!" shouted Dark Bloom. Roxy turned her gaze from the fire creatures for only seconds and saw Tecna struggling in Dark Bloom's grasp. She was about to abandon her fight against the demon and try help when Bloom's voice called out again. But Dark Bloom's mouth didn't move.

"No. I'm Bloom of Domino."

Roxy turned from Tecna and Dark Bloom to the entrance of the ruined room. There stood a second Bloom, looking tired, but she somehow managed to keep an aura of ferocity about her. She quietly made her way into the room, the flames dying down as she walked in. Her blue eyes narrowed as she stared down the Dark Bloom strangling Tecna. "Drop her, Bloom."

Dark Bloom hissed and dropped Tecna in a heap on the floor. "So, the imposter has finally come to play."

Bloom said nothing in response, just stared as though she were trying to come to terms with the idea of there being two of her. Roxy found her silence to be a bit unnerving. Guilt rose up within her as she realized they'd been blaming the wrong Bloom the whole time.

"Bloom?" Sky ventured.

She glanced away from Dark Bloom to look at Sky. A sad smile came to her lips. "Hi. Sorry I had to attack you before. I had to find the evil threatening us." She looked back at Dark Bloom, her expression hardening. "Little did I know it was me."

"Enough chat. Let's prove who's the real Bloom right now! Whoever wins obviously is the great Bloom of Domino!" Dark Bloom summoned flames in her hands and glowered at Bloom.

Bloom only shook her head. " I'm not too sure how this happened. But it has to end, Bloom."

Roxy frowned. Why did Bloom keep referring to Dark Bloom as Bloom?

"It will end with your downfall!" Dark Bloom shrieked. She ran forward and slashed down on Bloom. Bloom only reached up and caught her by the wrist. "Fight me, you coward!"

Bloom made a quick turn and pulled Dark Bloom over her, flipping the shocked girl onto her back. "Enough!"

"No!" Dark Bloom shot upward, catching Bloom by surprise. Bloom fell backwards from Dark Bloom, who scrambled to her feet and stepped backwards. "I'm not finished. I'm going to kill every person we love. Every single one of them." she got the cruelest of smiles. "Including our Earth parents…" Then there was a flash of light and Dark Bloom and Baltor were gone.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 - Bloom By Fate's Deeming

Immediately after Dark Bloom and Baltor left, Bloom turned to exit the room. She'd have left no contest, if someone didn't grab her hand. She turned and found herself gazing up at Sky's confused expression. "Bloom… what is going on?" he asked, a mix of pain and relief shining in his eyes.

She bit her lip and looked around at the royalty, who'd since recollected themselves and gathered around her. The lot of them were obviously shocked; some actually appeared to have regret while others, glanced at her warily. Uncertainty was unanimous in all of them. Her parents and Daphne weren't exactly rushing to embrace her . As for the Winx and the Specialists, they all had the same expressions as Sky; they felt pained and guilty for condemning her, but relieved she wasn't actually the evil.

The only problem with their logic was that she was the evil.

"I'm so sorry!" Stella burst out. She pushed through the crowd and practically smothered Bloom in a hug. Sky pulled back from them, looking awkward. "I didn't want to believe it was you! But all the threats, all the destruction, and what she did to Sky's father…"

"Erendor?" Panic and fear filled Bloom and she looked toward Sky. "She… I…Is he alright?" Sky looked away not answering her, and she understood. "I'm so sorry."

"Where've you been?!" Layla interrupted. "If you'd just stayed with us then we could've proven it hadn't been you!"

"Layla, I'm sure Bloom would've come back, except there's that tiny little fact that we were hunting her down to turn her in to the Royal Council to be dealt with accordingly!" Nabu looked at Bloom sympathetically. "Besides, that I'm sure she's got a very good explanation for not coming back."

Bloom peeled herself away from Stella and took a couple of steps back from everyone. "Look, I'd love to divulge the details of my disappearance, but I've got to get to Earth before I do…" she thought about that statement, "…yeah. That's right."

"Why do you keep talking about her like she's you?" Daphne came forward and took Bloom's hands. Her relief was the most obvious out of anybody's, and Bloom couldn't help wondering if her own sister had questioned her intentions. "She's not you. She's this Dark Bloom creature, obviously made to make you look like this terribly, power-hungry person…"

"That's why she's me!" Bloom snapped. She pulled away and held her head in her hands. "I…I think she's a manifestation of me. I'm not sure how she is, but she's a part of me. I have to stop myself." It was way weird to talk about stopping herself. Thinking about dealing with herself was giving her a headache.

"But, you're not power-hungry." Daphne frowned. "Bloom?"

"I don't have time, I've got to get going!" Bloom shoved past the Isis royal family, who'd been blocking her way. Diaspro looked at her with a smirk, then glanced sympathetically at Sky. Bloom fought every fiber in her being to not retaliate in some way and made her way to the exit.

"Wait! Bloom! Let us help!" Flora called out after her.

"NO!" Bloom turned to her friends and family fighting back tears. "I've got to handle this myself." Then she summoned a portal and blindly threw herself into it, wanting desperately to get away from the people she loved before she could hurt them again.

* * *

Mathias had been waiting patiently in a thicket outside an old temple that once housed worship for the Theistic Wizards. Bloom had finally discovered the evil's presence on Domino, and elected to go there and deal with it. Mathias had declined and told her to report to him at the temple once she was done on Domino. He didn't want to accidentally run into Daphne. Somehow he trusted Bloom to return.

There was a blinding flash signaling the opening of a portal and out of nowhere stumbled his charge. Immediately he knew that something was wrong. The girl was crying.

"What happened?" Mathias asked as he pulled Bloom to her feet. She just shook her head and covered her face with her hands. But Mathias wasn't about to allow her to drop the subject. "Well? Did you find this so called evil?"

"You were right…" Bloom sobbed.

"What?" Mathias furrowed his brow, confused. "What do you mean I was right?"

"I did it. It was me. Mathias, I did all this to the universe." Bloom fell back to her knees and bowed her head, hands still covering her face. She shook with each sob. "I attacked Eraklyon a few hours ago. I hurt Sky's father."

"That's impossible. You were with me…" Mathias knelt next to Bloom. He remembered Daphne sitting like that, crying when her parents had left to deal with Baltor. Bloom reminded him so much of Daphne and he longed to reach out and comfort her. He held back, reminding himself that it was Bloom and not Daphne. "I never left you."

"It's like there's two of me, Mathias. I looked at her and it was like looking in a mirror. An identical but very angry mirror!" She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "How is that even possible? How can I be in two places at once?"

Mathias frowned, then looked back toward the temple. "I'm not sure. But I'm certain the Theistic Wizards would know." He pulled the distraught girl to her feet again and began leading her to the ruined temple. "Come on."

"Mathias… we don't have time. My next target is Earth. I'm going to attack my parents. I have to protect them." Bloom tried to pull from Mathias, but Mathias kept hold. "Mathias… I…"

"Don't worry, I'm not taking you to the Death Realm." Mathias threw back what he hoped was a reassuring look. "I'm just going to call upon the Theistic Wizards for answers and guidance."

"But my parents…"

"I'm afraid the answers you need are more important." Mathias dragged her across the threshold of the temple, ignoring her protests. "It shouldn't take long at anyway." He dropped Bloom's arm and wandered to the center of the Spartan room. Power surged through him as he spoke his incantation in Latin, "_Theistic pythones egressus obtulerit obsecro sapientia duce dui. Lorem ipsum supervenerit. Quadrivium sto, mea nata decernat. Placere submouit. Respondeo humilis servus vester, rogo vos ut …_"

Wraithlike images began to appear about the room, like holograms except they radiated with different forms of power. They were correlative to the Divine fairies: each figure wore a color to signify alliance. The figure cloaked in gold gave him the slightest nod. "We have come, Servus Fidelis. Ask of us your questions. But ask not of us any favors. We supply only the information you seek. We cannot alter the course of fate." As if to emphasize his point, the figure glanced toward Bloom. His eyes showed pity, but still held a resoluteness.

"Of course, Arlen." Mathias bowed his head. As he glanced back up, he noticed Ciaran glaring at Bloom. Ciaran caught his eye and Mathias quickly looked away. He aimed his focus once more on Arlen. "I was charged with returning Princess Bloom of Domino to the Death Realm in order to restore the balance of power."

"And as we can see you've located you charge. Why then have you not sent her to the Death Realm?" shot Ciaran.

Mathias eyed Ciaran. "I was prepared to do such, except there is an extreme imbalance that's shifting from good to evil. She was as alarmed about it as I was and wished to investigate for the sakes of her friends and family. I agreed to allow her to do so, with the condition that I accompany her and she turn herself in when her mission is complete."

"Foolish! What if you had lost her? Or if she'd gone to undermine fate…" Ciaran began his rant but was cut off when Arlen raised his hand.

"Let him continue. The girl is with him now, so your 'what ifs' are pointless words wasted for the sake of speaking your piece." Arlen gave Ciaran a warning look. "Do not voice your opinion again. I want only thoughts of use and meaning."

Mathias frowned. He'd never seen the Wizards fight before. "Bloom went to Domino where both she and I sensed great negative energy. She went on without me, to ensure my anonymity." Ciaran gave Arlen a look, but Arlen ignored him. Mathias continued, "She returned, perturbed by what she'd discovered."

"And what was it you discovered?" interjected the gray wizard, Strahan. He was not looking at Mathias, but at Bloom, curiosity alight in his eyes. "What would be so disturbing that you, a powerful fairy, would be perturbed?"

Bloom's lip quivered the slightest, but she kept her composure as she faced the wizards. "I saw myself. I'd attacked the royal council. I was about to kill the Princess of Zenith until I intervened." She looked down at the cracked floors of the temple. "I am now headed to Earth, to destroy my family."

The Theistic Wizards didn't respond to Bloom's story, not even Ciaran: rather they were quiet. Mathias held his breath as he waited for a reaction. Oddly enough, the instruments of fate appeared to be shocked by the turn out of events. It seemed as though they hadn't even expected what had happened.

"What kind of insane statement was that? I was about to kill until I intervened… are you being possessed?" Ciaran snapped.

"To clarify… you're the one who's caused the destruction and terror at Alfea and Eraklyon. Now you're about to go to Earth and destroy those who fostered and loved you?" Strahan tilted his head slightly, intrigued by Bloom.

Bloom didn't even look up from the floor. "She is me."

"No she's not." Mathias intervened. The girl was condemning herself just by speaking. "There is a second Bloom at work. This one has darker more evil intentions."

"They're my intentions!" Bloom shouted. She looked at him, pain showing in her blue eyes. "They're my feelings she's feeling. They're my thoughts! I shared those thoughts when I caught her eye on Domino. I felt her feelings! She was once a part of me. Now she's been freed and holds my darker intentions as though I want them carried out!" Her tears began spilling again as shame fell over her.

Silence fell again as all the Theistic Wizards regarded the hysteric girl before them. Mathias fought back the urge to comfort her again. He focused on the question he had wanted to ask the Wizards. "I'm asking which Bloom of Domino I'm supposed to return to the Death realm." he stated softly. He looked up at Arlen, imploringly. "There are two. One of terrible, cruel intention. The other a humble servant who only wants to protect the ones she loves."

Arlen glanced at his brothers. They were all looking at Bloom with mixed feelings: feelings of condemnation, sympathy, and anxiety. Ciaran threw a dark look at Arlen in response to his glance. "This is most certainly unprecedented." Arlen said slowly.

Mathias almost felt his heart stop. The Wizards were at a loss. They had no idea what to do. And they were the agents of Fate. They had to ensure everything ran as Fate intended. If they didn't know what to do…

"Bloom." Arlen addressed Bloom, sounding as formal as possible. "What should be done?"

Mathias whipped around and stared at Bloom. They were asking her? This distraught young girl they insisted had to be returned to Death's clutches to return the balance? He watched as she clenched her fists, then released them and slumped her shoulders. It was an action of surrender…

"I'm going back to the Death Realm." Bloom said quietly. She looked up, her blue eyes dulled with solemnity. "All of me."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 - To Convince the Doubtless

If there was anything Stella had learned about relationships, it was that they were dependent on taking as well as giving. Any relationship: mother-daughter, father-daughter, boyfriend-girlfriend, friend-friend, best-friend-best-friend… their survival was all dependent on the equal-giving/taking concept. If Stella borrowed Flora a dress, Flora would later be obligated to borrow Stella something of similar worth… like shoes. The idea was simple…

And yet there was Bloom, undermining the very workings of the simple idea, finding difficulties where none should be. Her relationships were on a whole other level, following her rules and no one else's. As Tecna would say, Bloom defied logic. Unlike a normal human being in a relationship, she insists on giving more than she takes at every turn. The act defied human nature…

Or did it? Perhaps Bloom's insistence on giving was merely an act of selfishness on her part? Maybe her insistence to take on the extreme risks to save others was her way of trying to find a way out? If so what was it she was trying to get out of? Was the magical universe too much for her then? Had Stella brought about all this trouble for her best friend?

"Are we there yet Timmy?!" Stella yelped in an attempt to pull herself out of her guilty thoughts. "We need to hurry and help Bloom!"

"I know Stella! And I'm going as fast as I can!" Timmy was gripping the ship's steering device so tight Stella could see his knuckles were white. He was trying so hard to concentrate, to keep from panicking, "I'm trying… I promise!"

Stella sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. Her mind still spun with questions and despite her attempts to prevent them, her feelings of guilt still rose up. 'No,' Stella thought quietly to herself. 'No more questions. It's time I gave back to Bloom. Repaid her for everything. Helping her realize her true self is the least I could do. Not doubting her as well.' Stella uncrossed her arms to nervously finger the edge of her shirt and felt the slightest smile as she recognized just what shirt she was wearing. 'She'd probably appreciate it if I stop taking her clothes too…'

There was an intentionally loud hacking noise that was supposed to be someone clearing their throat. Stella was pulled out of her own thoughts by Musa's attempt to break the tense silence that had filled the ship. "So we've got a rogue copy of Bloom on our hands." Musa gave a nervous laugh. Stella saw she was trying to lighten the mood. "You know I used to joke with Bloom that two of her would make the universe twice as safe. Boy was I completely wrong!"

The every person on board stared at Musa with mixed looks of sympathy, disapproval, sadness, and anger. Stella clasped her hands on her lap and shook her head. 'Nice try, Musa… but not the best joke for the situation.'

Sky finally answered Musa's sad remark. "It's not Bloom." He muttered. But he didn't sound entirely convinced. "It's Dark Bloom. That horrendous thing that Darkar created to take Bloom over and get the ultimate power for him. That thing attacked Alfea. That thing ruined my home. That thing attacked the royal council." Sky looked at the floor. "That thing hurt my father. It wasn't Bloom. Her actions had nothing to do with Bloom!"

"I don't know, Sky." Layla responded quietly.

Everyone on the ship shifted their attentions, with the exception of Timmy, to glance at Layla. Stella herself was confused by the statement. She frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"She seemed so certain. And so uncertain. Damn it all, you guys…" Layla ran a hand through her hair as she closed her eyes tight. " I haven't been so confused in my entire life. Which one is Bloom? Where did the other Bloom come from? How is it possible for there to be two of them? Even Bloom looked totally confused. Bloom was sure it was her, but then she seemed scared to admit it, to accept it. If she's not sure of who she is, how are we going to choose between the two? When they were fighting I even had a hell of a time telling the two apart! Bloom was suffering this identity crisis."

Stella rubbed her temples. Layla's jumbled thoughts were so confusing to keep track of. "Does one even need to think to identify our Bloom? The Bloom that came back to help us was the real Bloom. Our Bloom was the one who saved Tecna!" Stella turned to face the rest of the group. "Bloom came back for us despite our shortcomings. I know that Bloom that fought for us, that Bloom who was horrified by what the Dark Bloom had done, that Bloom who bothered to try protecting us by telling us to stay behind while she went to deal with Dark Bloom was the Bloom I know and love. So she's having an identity crisis? We need to help her sort it out! We need to save her from herself! As her friends we need to convince her of what it is she is capable of and who she is."

Sky nodded at Stella. "She's right. No more doubts. Our doubts have hurt Bloom enough."

The ship shuddered and Timmy loosened his grip on the steering apparatus. "We're here." He slumped in his chair for a moment, then tensed as he glanced out the window before him "But so is… the thing!" Timmy yelped and ducked down as a large chunk of rubble broke through the hyper-tempered glass of the windshield.

Glass was flying, shouts were being sounded, the loud thudding and shattering filled the air. All the action happened so fast Stella mind couldn't keep up. When her mind had finally caught up she realized Roxy's boyfriend Aiden had her shoved up against the wall, the large piece of rubble lying where she'd been standing. It was smoking and the heat rolled off of it. "Oh my stars…"

Aiden pulled back looking a bit sheepish, red rising in his pale cheeks. "Sorry."

"No… that's okay." Stella said slowly as she stared at the spot she'd been.

"She's tearing the buildings apart!" Roxy shouted. She was standing at the windshield staring out the gaping hole. The poor girl was trembling from shock. "She's destroying Domino! We need to stop her!"

"Right!" Stella pulled herself away from her near-fatal moment. "Winx! Believix!"

* * *

Riven leaped out of the broken window and landed on the pavement with a hard crunch. The entire street was covered in rubble and ruins. People (as they tended to do in emergency situations) were running around blindly and stupidly, screaming as though loud noise would make the situation go away. Riven shook his head pulled out his phantom blade. The maroon blade revealed itself at his bidding and he quickly glanced around, searching for the problem.

The problem had apparently spotted him first and Riven found himself slammed into a brick building, pain shooting through his back and head. "Ohh…" Riven slumped down into a flower bed as his vision blurred and blacked out in response to his pain.

"Riven!" Musa's voice called out to him. He struggled to see her, to follow the sound of her voice. "Riven!"

Suddenly she was gone, the blurring was gone, the pain was gone. He was without thought, without feeling, without consciousness. Then there was light and he looked up into the saddest damned, blue eyes he'd ever seen. A warm hand was laid against his forehead and another against his chest. It was like deja-vu all over again. Except this time she wasn't fainting on him. "Hey, Princess Brat."

The corner of her mouth perked up the slightest. "Can't keep doing this Riven. Saving you from the verge of death. Not good for you or me." She pulled back and stood up. "Not that it'll matter…"

Riven scrambled to his feet and saw all the Specialists and Winx were locked in battle with the various creatures of the Army of Decay. Each of the fairies were throwing out colorful blasts of magic. Plants were springing up, light was flashing, bursts of music chords filled the air. But it all seemed futile compared the tremendous force of monsters that had gathered. "She's unstoppable. She's got too much power."

"That I do." Bloom mused. "That I do." She took a couple steps forward then threw out her arms wide before her. A hot, fiery energy erupted before her, not affecting the Specialists and Winx. It consumed the horrid Army of Decay monsters, rendering them as dust. All the Specialists and Winx turned toward her and stared at her in shock and relief. As the flames subsided, Riven noticed her shoulders were heaving slightly. "But I'm not unstoppable." she stated, her voice a bit airy and breathless.

"Bloom…" Riven wasn't sure what to say to her. He thought back to what Stella had said about Bloom, how they ought to convince her of what she was and what she was truly capable of. Then he looked at the dust before them, settling. Bloom knew what she was capable of. Bloom understood what she was and could be. Telling her was futile. She didn't need to hear about what she already knew. So he finally settled on saying something he knew she'd appreciate. "I'm with you all the way, Princess Brat."

Some of the tension drained from her and she gave him an actual smile then. It was all good until the Solarian decided to butt in.

"Bloom!" Stella shrieked, pure delight visible on her face. She moved to run to Bloom but Bloom had tensed up again. She turned from Stella and stared down the ruined street. Stella stopped in her tracks and watched her, a sudden uncertainty showing in her large brown eyes. "Bloom?"

"Bloom!" Bloom shouted loud enough her voice managed to heard over the sounds of chaos. "Where am I!? It's time I stopped cowering! I need to finish this!" She turned around, scanning the area, ignoring the looks she was getting from the rest of the Winx and the guys. "I want power? Well I've got power! Come on out of hiding! Let's settle who it is I am once and for all!"

It was strange to watch Bloom call for herself first-person. Hell it was downright scary. Riven could understand why she'd fallen victim to an identity crisis. He doubted he could to addressing himself in the first person, hoping to draw out himself. But girl had that signature determined look in her sad, blue eyes as she shouted. Identity crisis or not, Bloom had intention and purpose. She most certainly was not crazy. Bloom was just handling the situation like she always did.

Then a scream sounded from behind them all and Riven felt his stomach drop when he recognized just whose voice it was. "Bloom!"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Death's Hand Closes

It took Bloom moments to register what it was that was actually going on. "Bloom!" Vanessa screamed again, her pain ringing in her tone. Baltor held her adoptive mother by the wrists, his hands aglow with Dragon Fire. Vanessa looked like she'd been to hell and back; burns ran up her arms and legs, parts of her clothing had been torn and burnt, and tears streamed down her face as she let out agonized screams. Bloom fought the urge to rush Baltor.

Baltor dropped his hold on Vanessa then and she collapsed on the tarmac. He gave Bloom the slyest of grins, light dancing in his amber eyes. "If I'd known that this was all it took to slow the great Princess of Domino, I'd have done it last time."

"Mom!" Bloom blurted. Vanessa didn't move. "Damn you Baltor!"

"That you have!" Baltor laughed and held up a Dragon blast above Vanessa. "Surrender to your true self, Bloom! Admit to what you actually are! I'll spare your adopted mother…"

"Where's my father!?" Bloom shouted. A sudden onslaught of emotions and thoughts bombarded her mind. Fear, worry, pain, anguish, and sadness fought over her, making her dizzy. She couldn't believe what was happening was actually happening. She fought to keep her mind open enough that she could move at the opportune moment. "What the hell have you done to him!?"

"Oh Bloom…" Baltor gave a loud laugh like she was the stupidest person in the universe. "It's not what I've done to him! It's what you're doing to him!"

Bloom held her head in her hands in hopes to ease the spinning sensation. Everything was beyond her control, nothing was working right. She was here facing down Baltor, she was there hurting her father… "Don't hurt her!" she cried out pathetically.

"The terms , Princess. Agree to my terms, surrender to your dark side and be my pawn…" Baltor looked so triumphant standing over poor, mortal Vanessa, as though defeating her was his greatest accomplishment to date. "Come on now, Bloom!"

"I…I…" Bloom closed her eyes tight to fight the tears and shut out the world. How much more could she handle? She was just exhausted and abused :mentally, physically, and emotionally. She couldn't keep up with it all. "Mom!"

Another familiar voice answered her instead. "Bloom?!"

Bloom opened her eyes and turned to see Miriam and Oritel coming through a portal, Daphne tailing them. Miriam's gaze went from her to where Baltor stood over the motionless Vanessa. "Oh my gods…" she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "Vanessa…"

"Baltor! You've reached an all-time low you cowardly bastard!" Oritel cussed. His brown eyes looked bright orange with fire as he addressed Baltor. "Attacking a mundane, helpless human?! Have you no sense of rectitude!?"

"And you're one to talk about integrity, Oritel! Everything you've done to the child you swore to protect proves you're a hypocrite!" Baltor returned his focus to Bloom. "The clock is ticking, Bloom! What will it be? Will you accept your destiny and go along with your true self to take the universe by fiery storm? Or will you force me to destroy the woman who raised and loved you no matter what or who you were?" he smiled as his questions hit home with Bloom. "Well?"

Bloom looked at her mom on the ground. She hadn't moved once since Baltor had dropped his hold on her. She lay curled in the fetal position, her eyes closed, mouth set in a grimace. Memories ran through Bloom's mind. Memories of her admitting everything to her parents. Despite all the enormity and seeming absurdity, Mike and Vanessa had willingly accepted her for everything she was. Fairy, Princess of Domino, Leader of the Company of Light… none of the titles made her any more or less than what she was to them. Mike and Vanessa still saw her as their little baby girl through it all. She was Bloom, their daughter. Not a pawn. Not a villain. Just the good person they raised her to be.

Suddenly Bloom understood herself. Mike and Vanessa had made her a strong independent girl, but she'd allowed the universe to burden her with fear of failure: failure to be their princess, failure to be their fairy, failure to be their princess... But failure or not, Mike and Vanessa had always would always love her. And she couldn't repay their loving her for her by letting Baltor destroy them. She looked up at Baltor, who was still smirking. "You win… I'm yours…"

"Bloom!" Daphne ran for her but Oritel grabbed her. Bloom gave her an apologetic look and started walking toward Baltor. It was over. Evil had finally won her over. "Bloom! Stop… someone stop her!" Daphne screamed. "Sky! Stella! Father let me go! Layla!? Nabu!? Mathias… Mathias?"

Before anyone could react, a dark force erupted from the shadows next to Baltor, throwing him off balance. Baltor yelped and stumbled, and Bloom flew into action. She was upon Baltor in seconds, hands flaring with flames. She threw down as much angry, fiery force as she could muster, but Baltor grabbed her by the wrist and flipped her over, using her momentum to slam her into the pavement. Bloom felt something crack in her arm and stifled a yelp. Flames that weren't her own raced up her arm and seared her flesh, making her scream. "AAGHH!"

"A shame… you and I would've done well together I'm sure. My ambition and your power…" Baltor was over her glaring down at her. He pressed a boot against her windpipe, cutting off her breath. "I'll have to settle for the other you. Not as powerful, but at least she's a lot more impressionable."

Bloom's vision kept fading and flashing as she struggled for air. Baltor still had hold of her arm, his strong fingers still tight and hot with fire. But she could barely register the pain from the burning. Instead she found her life shifting through her mind quickly. It wasn't in the form of pictures and visions like every movie and book described. There was this rush of sounds and thoughts as her mind struggled to create an organized and singular thought. But above it all she could still hear Baltor's cruel laugh, mocking her…

Then his laugh ceased…

* * *

"Bloom! Stop… someone stop her!" Daphne was screaming and pleading. Hearing her practically tore at Mathias' heartstrings. He wanted more than anything to do something. But to reveal himself? Revealing himself would mean breaking Daphne's gentle heart… hurting her beyond anything that had hurt her before. He didn't want her to suffer that…

But she was suffering now, watching her precious little sister turn herself over to Baltor's wrath. And as he saw it, that pain was by far worse than any heartbreak he could inflict on her. Daphne's love for him just couldn't compare to the love she had for the sister she'd sacrificed herself for. He had to do something…

He stepped out of the shadows and made his way toward Baltor, approaching him from behind. Nobody noticed him and Daphne was still screaming. Perhaps he could attack without being seen?

Daphne sobbed as her father held her back. "Sky! Stella! Father let me go! Layla!? Nabu!? Mathias… Mathias?" Daphne's brown eyes had caught sight of him and Mathias felt his heart drop as he saw the sudden hope and hurt in them. He worked hard to ignore her and focused hard on transposing himself. There was a surge of dark energy in him and he coalesced next to the unsuspecting Baltor, throwing the wizard off-balance. He landed in a crouch, feeling the energy begin seeping from him.

When he looked up, Bloom had moved, quickly and catlike, to attack the distracted Baltor. He watched as she tried to slash down on Baltor with her hand flaring with fire energy. But Baltor was faster and snatched her arm before the attack got close. He managed to vault the young girl over him and drop her to the concrete. The girl landed hard on her back and grimaced in pain. Baltor summoned flames to the fingers still holding Bloom's arm and Bloom screamed a scream that echoed through Mathias' mind.

"A shame… you and I would've done well together I'm sure. My ambition and your power…" Baltor then pressed his boot to Bloom's neck to cut her air off. He obviously had no intention of using her now. "I'll have to settle for the other you. Not as powerful, but at least she's a lot more impressionable."

Mathias struggled to his feet, trying to hang on to his energies. Bloom thrashed against Baltor's hold on her. Baltor only pressed down harder, a madly, dogged look reflected in his eyes. Bloom's body fell limp and her wide blue eyes became unfocused. Mathias finally felt his body respond to his commands and he launched himself at Baltor. The two of them went tumbling across the asphalt, grappling with one another. Mathias finally threw Baltor off of him and the man crashed into ground several feet away. Mathias then scrambled to his feet and tore a necklace from around his neck. He poured all his energies into it and glared at Baltor. "Death has claimed you as his, Baltor… by the powers that work to balance the universe you shall return to Death."

A dark vortex erupted from beneath Baltor and began to drag him downward. Electricity snapped in the air and darkness clouded the skies. Baltor roared and struggled against the vortex's power. "No!"

"Yes… yes, Baltor! Return…" Mathias watched as Baltor shouted at him, throwing a number of horrible curses toward him. Eventually his yells ceased as the vortex swallowed him whole. "Give back to death what Dark Bloom dared take." Mathias murmured. The vortex then began to close and Mathias felt the last dregs of his magical energy leaving. He fell to his knees, dropping the necklace and gasping.

"Mathias!" Daphne cried. Suddenly she was there holding him. She felt so warm and smelled so sweet that vivid memories of him and her together were triggered in his mind. "You're… you're…"

Mathias could only wheeze in response. He was about to attempt speaking to her when a cry cut him off.

"Bloom!"

Mathias turned and saw Bloom still lying where Baltor had her pinned. Her gaze still stared blankly toward the skies and her body lay limp. She looked like a battered rag doll. "No!" he pulled out of Daphne's grasp and stumbled over to the limp girl. The blonde guy who'd shouted her name fell to her other side and pushed the hair out of her face. "Bloom?" Mathias grabbed her wrist and felt for her pulse. He panicked because he felt none. "Bloom! Not now! Death can't claim you while you've still got work to do! We made a deal!"

"Bloom?" The blonde guy's eyes were filled with tears as he took her other hand. "Come back to me…"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - Divine Intervention

"No! NO!" Bloom screamed angrily and fell to her knees. Despair suddenly overcame her fury, and she buried her face in her hands. She was dead and she could feel it. Somehow she felt… detached from the corporeal plane, incapable of waking up within her own body. She looked up from her hands and looked around. About her the darkness flowed, thick and smothering. "I can't be dead! I need to get back! Let me go back…"

Bloom ceased talking when she heard whispering. The whispering escalated until an onslaught of hisses made her shiver. They all said the same things, "Denial, anger, bargaining, depression…" They chanted the words, taunting her. She hugged her knees and closed her eyes tightly. Despite the voices, she was alone.

"But you are not alone!" A voice called out, booming louder than the horrid whispers.

Bloom's eyes snapped open and she found herself standing before two looming thrones of smoke. A man and a woman, cruel in appearance and expression, looked down upon her, their gazes hard. A growl before the thrones made her flinch and she saw a demon sitting at the foot of the thrones. It eyed her hungrily. "What…"

"We are the members of the Silver Kingdom! The Keepers to the Death Doors and Realms! We uphold the balance within the domains of the dead! And you, Princess Bloom of Domino, have caused quite a stir in our domain!" His voice was most certainly commanding in tone as he emphasized each of his sentences like he were giving out a royal proclamation. The man glowered down at her, and indifferent expression showing on his face.

"I'm sorry?" Bloom inquired and blinked. Her raw emotions from earlier had been replaced with confusion. "What?"

The woman answered her harshly. Her tone was filled with much more accusation than the man's, "You dared to take more from the Death Realms than what we allowed. You removed two souls more than we commanded may leave." She cackled then, despite there being a lack of humor in anything she said, and Bloom raised an eyebrow. Was the lady's laugh for real? "Daphne of Domino and Nabu of Tides were charged with wandering the Fields of Asphodel. Then you show up and disturb the whole undead population, not to mention rile up the demon hordes that reside in the realm."

"They didn't deserve the 'Fields of Asphodel', if that's that horrible place they were in with all the wandering souls!" Bloom snapped. "They were heroes! They deserved something much better!"

"Well that's not for you to decide, now is it? Since when did you get so high and mighty as to declare spiritual fates?" The witch harrumphed and turned her attention to the wizard. "Gauthier, love? Why did she not go straight to the Death Realms when she died? Why is she floating about space like the useless trash she is?" Bloom's cheeks burned as the demon before the thrones chuckled at the insult.

Gauthier didn't laugh. He only stared hard at Bloom like she was a peculiar object. "I don't know." He gave a pleased smile then, like he'd finally noticed something good about Bloom. "But she isn't whole. Which can only mean the deal was successful. Something did come out with her…"

"What?" Bloom narrowed her eyes and her suspicion of the trio grew even more. Her mind raced to process what the Death Door Keepers were going on about. "What are you going on about… wait!" Suddenly pieces of the puzzle began falling into place. Nabu and Daphne were supposed to stay in the Death Realm, but she'd been allowed out. And something came out with her. Dark Bloom's unpredictable appearance couldn't be a coincidence. "You're responsible for Dark Bloom!"

"And?" The witch cackled and Bloom shivered. The witch's laugh was horrible and Bloom wished she would just stop. " We assumed that the traveling between planes and your extreme powers would cause Dark Bloom to split from you and become her own being. We just wanted to stir up a bit of trouble for the damned Golden Kingdom! Always a good time! And there was trouble. Lovely, titillating trouble!"

"That's terrible! And wrong! People were hurt and possibly killed!" Bloom closed her hands into fists and clenched her teeth in frustration. She really wanted to make them pay for the pain her friends and family had to face.

It was as though the horrid witch had read her mind. "What are you going to do about it, Bloom?" the witch mocked, tacking on another heinous cackle. "You're on our turf. We rule you, your royal deadness! Of course your coming into our throne room does defy the laws of balance of the Death realm. Therefore you'll need to be taken care of, as is our duty! Since you won't go to the Death Realm with the rest of the souls, we'll let Beelzebul devour you. He's got a special hatred for you, considering you managed to destroy some of his minions!"

Beelzebul growled with pleasure and glared at Bloom, licking his sharp fangs with a forked tongue. Then he quickly crouched and launched himself into a pounce. Bloom stumbled backward as he landed where she'd stood moments before. Before she could move again, Beelzebul put a heavy claw down on her stomach to pin her down.

"Enough!" called a powerful voice.

Bloom glanced back and saw figures start appearing one-by-one. Light emanated from them and they approached the thrones with determined gaits. "I see the so-called Silver Kingdom continues to abuse its bestowed powers to tamper with balance and meddle with Fate!" called a different and familiar voice. Bloom saw Ianessa walk forward with a man at her side. It was Arlen, leader of the Theistic Wizards. "Remove thyself, unholy Beelzebul." Ianessa commanded.

As the light came closer, the demon backed off of Bloom, a grumbling tone sounding from deep within its throat. Bloom tried to get to her feet and scramble back at the same time, a combo of actions that failed to execute and caused her to stumble back onto her butt. Ianessa and Arlen had reached her by then and positioned themselves between her and the thrones. "Be gone. Her fate is out of you hands now, as is the fates of her sister and friend. When she returns, she is yours to tend, not devour." Arlen glanced at the demon.

"You can't interfere with our work with the dead!" The witch screeched.

"Fate has overruled you, Desdemona. Considering what you just confessed to the girl, I'd accept Fate's demand and leave the girl to us. Unless you'd like to fight the powers of Fate?" Ianessa motioned to the group behind her.

"Damn you…" cursed Desdemona. She stood and glanced at Gauthier. "What, you've got no issues with this? They're invading our work!"

Gauthier held Arlen's steady gaze for moments before standing. "Let them have her. She'll return to us soon enough." He disappeared in a cloud of black. Desdemona scoffed and followed suit. The demon just growled and faded completely into the darkness.

"Explain to me again why Fate won't just replace them? They're a nuisance with almost no sense of honor." Umbriel sniffed. "We're always tidying up things after they play pranks on the Golden Kingdom. And the Golden Kingdom doesn't even retaliate!"

"That's because the two are supposed to remain mutually exclusive. Naturally, the Silver Kingdom tenants would be stupid enough to forget that little detail." Ciaran answered Umbriel in a bored tone. He glanced down at Bloom, who was still on her butt. "Well, Princess. We've come for you. Consider it your lucky day."

"Lucky?! I'm dead!" Bloom snapped. Ciaran's attitude just pissed her off. She pushed herself to her feet and took a calming breath. Then she let all her confusion out. "Why am I not wandering with the other spirits in the fields? Why am I not being devoured by Beelzebul? Why are you here, telling off the Silver Kingdom rulers?" Bloom spouted off the questions, her mind reeling. "What is going on and how am I still involved?"

"It was time for divine intervention, Bloom!" exclaimed Galina, the white fairy. She gave Bloom a brilliant smile. "And being we're divine figures…"

Ciaran interrupted Galina. He gazed intently at Bloom, with less mocking than she'd received whenever he'd looked at her before. "Fate commanded that you need to return to life. Your destiny has not been fulfilled, therefore balance cannot be restored. Recall that I once told you balance could only be achieved through only one of your probable destinies being fulfilled. You can't fulfill anything being dead."

Bloom wondered to herself if Ciaran's final statement was meant to be demeaning. Then she shook her head and returned her focus to Ianessa. "It doesn't matter if you restored my life. I'm probably too late anyway. Baltor probably finished off my family and friends because I wasn't strong enough. And I have no idea where Dark Bloom… I mean _I_ would go with my father…" Bloom choked on the words.

Ianessa cupped Bloom's chin and tilted her face upward to meet her gaze. "It's never too late. You are proof of that. Because of you, it wasn't too late for Domino after eighteen years of entrapment in Obsidian. Because of you, it wasn't too late for your sister or Nabu after they died. Because of you it wasn't too late for loves to be restored: Daphne and Mathias, Miriam and Oritel, Layla and Nabu, you and Sky…" Ianessa's eyes shined with pride and happiness. "You will fulfill your destiny, Bloom. You will save your father and yourself. You are a strong, willful, and powerful girl. We have faith in you, just as your sister and Nabu have faith, and your Earth parents have faith. Now if only you'd have faith in yourself…"

Bloom looked at Ianessa. "But I don't know where…"

"You do know. Dark Bloom was a part of you. You know where to find her." Ianessa stepped back. "Now take this gift of chance Bloom. Go forth and fulfill a destiny, so long as it is your path and not anyone else's."

The light emanating from the figures became intense then and blinded Bloom indefinitely. She closed her eyes and felt a sudden heat shoot through her. With the warmth came a heavy pull that seemed to drag her back. Then there was a jolt and she was forced to open her eyes and gasp for air.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 - All of Bloom

Daphne was kneeling next to the body of her baby sister and crying. Bloom was so still, so quiet, so unlike the Bloom Daphne was used to seeing. Bloom's usually expressive blue eyes now stared up at the skies blankly. To see her sister like this was near unbearable. "Bloom, Bloom! Wake up…" Daphne begged. But Bloom didn't respond.

Mathias was sitting next to her, a grim expression showing on his face. He'd tried to resuscitate Bloom several times. But after the several attempts he fell back and calmly stated, "She's in Death's hands now." Hearing him say that only made Daphne cry harder. Bloom was gone.

Across from them, on the other side of Bloom, was Sky, who was still clinging to Bloom's hand. He said nothing, just looked past Daphne with as blank an expression as her baby sister. It seemed as though every time Bloom died, something in him died as well. Daphne could see it and feel it. She wanted to comfort him, but she needed comfort herself. The one person she loved more than anything in the universe was gone. Her supposedly wonderful parents she'd adored weren't exactly what she'd thought they were. And a terrible creature fashioned in her sister's image was terrorizing everyone, tarnishing her sister's precious name.

"I'm so sorry, Daphne…" Mathias murmured. She remembered then that he was alive and, at that moment, was probably the only good thing left for her. Daphne threw herself into his arms and cried. As far as she could tell, he hadn't changed. He just held her and said nothing, stroking her hair in a comforting manner. And Daphne was most grateful to him for that.

Beyond them, the Winx were all teary eyed and mourning. The Specialists were all somber and quiet, some of them comforting the Winx. Miriam was inconsolable as a mother ought to be, while Oritel walked away from everyone, his hand covering his eyes, a gesture of both shame and grief. They were all struggling with guilt and sadness. Knowing that Bloom was really dead this time really took the will and happiness out of everyone.

There was a noise and Daphne pulled away from Mathias to see Flora helping Vanessa over. Vanessa looked pained and sad as she looked upon her daughter. "This was one of my worst fears…when I sent her to Magix…" she choked on the words and turned from the view to Flora, who wrapped her arms around the distraught woman. "I should have known this would happen!" Vanessa sobbed. "Mike and Bloom are gone… gone…"

Daphne bit her lip and leaned over her baby sister. She placed her lips on Bloom's forehead like she'd done so many times when Bloom was a tiny baby. "I'm sorry, Bloom." Daphne whispered. This time she couldn't save her from the evil. This time she couldn't have sacrificed herself and given her baby sister a chance. This time, Bloom's fate was out of her hands. And it tortured her to know it.

When she couldn't bear to look at Bloom's empty eyes any longer she felt compelled to close them. She moved to do so when Bloom gave a sudden jerk and gasped, her blue eyes suddenly snapping to focus. Daphne yelped in shock and fell back from her sister, adrenaline rushing through her. Bloom quickly sat up then, her now focused eyes wide and her hand at her throat. "Bloom!" Daphne stared.

"Daphne!" Bloom coughed. "Ow!"

Noise erupted from beyond them and there was a mad scramble of people trying to get a better view. "Oh, stars! Bloom!" Stella shrieked. "Stop dying on me!" Cheers and laughs resounded throughout the group as everyone crowded around her.

Bloom coughed in response. "Actually, I've only technically died once…" Bloom pointed out, her voice sounding raw. Before she could pounce on her baby sister, Daphne watched as Sky pulled Bloom into his arms. "Easy, Sky… I'm okay…" Bloom muttered.

"To hell you are!" Sky growled. "That's the third time since we've been together I thought I'd lost you forever. You have no idea what it does to me to watch you get taken away again and again…"

Bloom pulled back from him and got to her feet, raising an eyebrow at him. "Right… I wouldn't have the slightest idea what that feels like," she said sarcastically. Then she sobered as though something horrible had occurred to her and she dolefully looked down into Sky's eyes. She clenched her fists and struggled as she spoke, as if the words were too hard to say. "And I'm… I'm afraid… you're going to have to lose me again, Sky."

"What?" Sky scrambled to his own feet and snatched Bloom's arm. "No, no more of this!"

Bloom just gave him a sympathetic look and tried to explain herself, "It's why I'm not dead, it's why I've got this chance. I'm sorry, Sky. But I've got to stop myself…"

Before she could go on Daphne interrupted her. "Stop talking about that horrible creature like she's you!" she snapped irritably. Bloom kept referring to that thing as being a part of her and Daphne was tired of telling her otherwise. That creature was not Bloom. She rose to her feet and locked eyes with Bloom. "That…that thing is not you. There is no way in the magical universe that horrible monster can be you! You've gone nothing in common with her but your appearances and your powers…"

"But she is me Daphne!" Bloom insisted as she pulled from Sky's grip. She faced Daphne, a look of knowing reflected in her pale features. "I'm not everything you thought I was, Daphne. Everyone has a good side and a darker side…"

"I know about you being Dark Bloom!" Daphne felt her anger beginning to subside and be replaced with frustration. She didn't want to hear any more about her baby sister being evil. "Mother and father told me! I know Darkar forced you to be that terrible creature with dark magic!"

Bloom shook her head. "Deep down I always had those terrible feelings of hatred and destructive tendencies. I knew it too. I always knew it but I didn't really want to accept it." She placed her hand over her heart and gazed at Daphne with an intense look. "Dark Bloom was always a part of me until our escape from the Death Realm. The escape along with my immensely growing powers managed to separate her from me. You know the rest." She turned her gaze from Daphne and looked around at all her friends and family. Pain sounded in her voice as she spoke her next words. "A darker part of my being has been running around threatening everything and everyone I love and care for! Ergo, everything that's happened is my fault!"

Everyone stared at Bloom with looks of shock. Daphne was even surprised. Bloom was saying that she was responsible for every action of Dark Bloom's because she'd been dark once and she was capable of them herself. "No, Bloom… it wasn't…" Daphne began.

"She… she was a part of you…" Stella said slowly. She was apparently still trying to comprehend just what it was Bloom was getting at. "And you did all those things…"

Suddenly Bloom wasn't sympathetic anymore. She was obviously tired of being doubted, of everyone questioning her every action and statement. "Yes!" Bloom said exasperatedly. "So dealing with her is my responsibility." She returned her determined gaze to Sky. "I've only come back to do anything and everything to stop her, whether you want it so or not. I'm going to stop her and save Mike." Bloom threw a look at Vanessa, a look that said 'I promise'. Then she met the gazes of all her friends. "And you're all going to stay here while I do it."

"No!" Layla shoved forward and glared at Bloom, standing face-to-face with her to better get her message across. "You can't just die on us then get back up and saunter off to save the universe like it was no big deal! And no more of you doing this alone! We're the Winx and we stick together…"

"No." Bloom answered stubbornly. Before Layla could start arguing with her she turned her back on Layla and began walking away. "Dealing with myself is why I'm back. This is my responsibility, not yours…"

"Princess Brat, this isn't a good idea…" Riven warned. Daphne noticed that he looked ready to follow her, but at the same time he seemed ready to follow her orders to stay.

"It's the only idea," Bloom answered coldly, not even slowing her pace. She was intent on handling the situation on her own and it seemed as though nobody could change her mind.

"Bloom, don't!" Sky shouted. He looked desperate all of a sudden and started to follow her. "Please… I can't lose you again!"

At Sky's plead, she halted for a moment then faced them again. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She obviously didn't want to go, but something gave her that driven look, like she was compelled by some greater power to do this herself. "I can't waste any more time. Mike needs me… I'm sorry… but I only do what I have to because I love you… understand that." Then there was a bright flash of blue light and Bloom was gone.

Mere seconds after she left everyone began to stir and argue amongst themselves. Stella and Layla were pleading with Tecna, trying to get her to track Bloom. Tecna was scrabbling with some device and trying to talk Stella and Layla down. Roxy and Musa seemed to be conflicted with what they ought to do and squabbled with the others on whether or not they should interfere. The Specialists were conferring with Timmy, trying to convince him to follow Bloom with the ship. Oritel and Miriam were having a heated discussion with one another away from everyone else.

Only Daphne, Mathias, Sky, Flora, and Vanessa were apart from the pandemonium. Flora remained quiet and merely supported Vanessa. Vanessa looked so pained and exhausted it was a miracle she wasn't in tears. Mathias was walking around the area, as though he were searching for something. And Sky stood off from everyone, suffering with loss and heartbreak.

Daphne walked up to Mathias, who'd stopped in a particular spot and was staring hard at the ground. "I don't know where she's headed, but she's determined to fix everything at any cost…" Daphne said sadly. "She's so stubborn and headstrong, yet at the same time she's compassionate and brave… Do you think she actually knows where Dark Bloom has gone with Mike? Is she actually strong enough to handle this on her own? What if she actually needs our help? What can we do? Oh Mathias…" Daphne wiped at the tears of despair beginning to form and looked at Mathias comfort for… buts he was apparently still preoccupied with staring hard at the ground. "What could you possibly be looking for?!" Daphne exclaimed.

Mathias met her gaze. "The Fate Token. The one I'd used to banish Baltor to the Death Realm…" his voice trailed off as an alarmed expression overtook his features. "Shit…"

Daphne frowned at the expletive. "What is it?"

"She intends on upholding her end of the bargain." he said grimly. He faced Daphne, his gray eyes serious. "She plans on sending Bloom to the Death Realm. All of Bloom…"


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 - A Broken Bloom

The rocky ground crunched beneath her feet with every step she took. But she barely registered the noise as she pressed onward. Her breathing was loud and her heart beat harder the closer she got to her destination. Terrifying memories of her previous missions in the realm filled her head. She pushed them to the back of her mind and tried to keep her focus. In her hand she fingered the necklace she'd taken from Mathias. She had to be ready and prepared to do what she had to do. It was her destiny, right?

But Bloom wasn't ready at all for what she saw once she'd exited the tunnels of Shadow Haunt and entered the cavern that used to contain Darkar's fortress. The last time she'd been to Darkar's Fortress she and her friends had to run like hell to get out because the whole place was collapsing. She'd expected to see massive ruins and rubble scattered about the enormous cavern, perhaps even blocking the entrance she just came through. But instead of ruin there was Darkar's fortress, eerily hanging from the cavern ceiling like one massive system of stalactites. Seeing the fortress intact made Bloom stop in both shock and horror. "How the hell… I didn't resurrect Darkar did I? No… I don't sense…"

"AAAAAGGGGHHH!" cried out a voice, cutting off Bloom's train of thought.

Bloom recognized the voice. It had sung to her, read to her, soothed her, and disciplined her throughout her child hood. Hearing it cry out and express pain and agony made her heart break and her panic arise. When it cried out again, Bloom felt compelled to run to him. "Dad!" She abandoned her fears and charged forward, heading down the a recognizable path for the staircase that originated at the bottom. "I'm coming Daddy!" Bloom shouted, hoping she would hear her. "I'm coming!"

She took the seemingly natural stairs two at a time, feet clapping against the stone hard, her gaze locked ahead of her. She clenched the cold amulet tightly in her hand; a nervousness arose in her as she became more conscious of the amulet's being in her hand. "I'm coming!" she cried out again. As time passed Bloom's nervousness shook up question after question: How much time had passed? How many more steps could there possibly be? Were there this many before? Was she going to be too late?

"No!" Bloom slammed through a rickety wooden door at the top of the staircase and stumbled into a long hallway. She looked both directions, her memory and intuition suddenly abandoning her. "Which way… which…"

Her father gave another cry, this one sounding more fearful than pained. Bloom took the right corridor and raced along the hallway. "Please don't be like that endless hallway dream…" Bloom muttered as she settled her sights on a door at the end. "Don't be endless… don't be endless…" She reached the door and threw her shoulder against it. It busted open with a resounding crack. "Dad?"

Mike lay unconscious on the cold stone floor of the Shadow Phoenix's decrepit throne room. He looked pale and beaten, a hundred times worse shape than Bloom had ever seen him come out of a fire. Her heart dropped as she rushed to his side. "Daddy!? Don't be dead! Daddy…"

"He's not dead…" called a sad voice from across the room. Bloom's head snapped up and she locked eyes with herself: blue eyes met amber eyes. "Hello, Bloom…" Dark Bloom said. She was seated at the foot of Darkar's empty throne, her arms wrapped about her knees. Her expression looked blank, but her eyes held anger. Seeing them made Bloom mad.

"Enough." Bloom snapped angrily. She stood up and stepped over her father, placing herself between him and herself. "I don't care if you're me… I've no sympathy for you after all that you've done! Your crazed antics and tantrums have hurt everyone and everything in ways that are damned near irreparable!"

"I know." Dark Bloom looked up, her eyes suddenly a shocking blue. Bloom faltered in her rant and stared. "I know what I've done…" Dark Bloom whispered, her blue eyes becoming glassy. She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders gave a sudden heave like she was sobbing. "I know… I know… God, I know…" She looked up at Bloom, her cheeks suddenly stained with tears. "But I swear it's all I know, Bloom! It's not all I want to know, but somehow I can't bring myself to do anything but take and destroy." She held her hands before her and Bloom saw they were shaking. "It's like I'm you but I'm not… I'm not me…"

Bloom raised her own hands then and looked down at them, her mind sifting through all she'd done and all she could do. In her right palm she saw Mathias' amulet. It exuded its dark energies and Bloom remembered what she had to do. "Perhaps… perhaps neither of us is truly Bloom." Bloom said quietly. She looked up and saw Dark Bloom was gone. Panic filled her and she whipped around to look at her father, but instead she was tackled. "No!"

"I am Bloom! The Great Bloom of Domino!" hissed Dark Bloom, her eyes amber again and filled with hatred. "You are a pathetic girl with my powers!"

"No!" Bloom wrestled with herself. She managed to roll over on top of herself for mere seconds before the other regained the upper hand. "This madness needs to end! I need to end!"

"Yes, you do!" Dark Bloom laughed maniacally then. "Why fight me if you see things my way!

"I meant all of me, which includes you!" Bloom snapped.

"Never!" Dark Bloom growled and struggled to summon her powers. Bloom grabbed her hand and broke her concentration. "You will die! That damned agent should've dragged your pathetic ass back to the Death Realm! But now I see I have to do it myself!"

Dark Bloom's mention of the Death Realm reminded Bloom of Mathias' amulet. Then she realized she didn't have it. While tussling with Dark Bloom, she must've dropped it. With much struggle, Bloom managed to kick Dark Bloom off of her and she scrambled to her feet. Her gaze scanned the area, searching for where she'd dropped the necklace. "Shit!"

"Oh…" Dark Bloom cooed behind Bloom and she whipped around to find Dark Bloom had recovered rather quickly from a kick to the stomach. She was now standing over her unconscious father, the coyest of grins along with her almond eyes giving her a cat-like look. "…did we drop something? Was it this?" Dark Bloom held up the necklace by the chain, the dark amulet dangling over her father's head. "What cutesy little trinket is this? What is it? Is it a nasty little weapon? Were you planning to use it to stop me? I wonder if it will work on the mundane…"

"No, don't!" Bloom yelped, revealing her intentions with the amulet.

Dark Bloom smiled at Bloom's outburst. "Ah… so it is a nasty little weapon." Dark Bloom clucked her tongue and waggled her finger at Bloom. "Naughty…"

"We need to put an end to this… we can't keep going on like this!" Bloom pleaded. So much for fearlessly facing herself. "At least let Mike go. He's got nothing to do with this."

"But he's got everything to do with this!" cried out Dark Bloom then. Her eyes were blue again and the tears began to spill once more. "Why don't any of them love me? Why? I'm Bloom! Not even my parents… not even Daphne… I'm this horrible monster just because of these powers! I'm too strong… too much for anybody's expectations and still not enough!"

Bloom stared at herself. She'd thought the same thing before she'd gone to the Prima. She thought the same thing after she'd heard about her parents sending guards after her. She'd felt the same way after she'd destroyed Lilith and the demons. Everything this Dark Bloom felt, she'd felt too. This creature before her was a part of her. She only really wanted to be accepted for who she was. "Oh… Bloom…" Bloom whispered. The Dark Bloom was probably only acting out on her greatest desires: to get strong and powerful enough, to be able to deal with her problems using quick and simple solutions, to be able to overcome her fears and pressures without hesitation… this was her. She was literally in two pieces.

Suddenly the other Bloom looked up, her eyes shifting between blue and amber. "This rage and sadness will never end will it? We are incapable of exceeding anyone's expectations, including our own. We'll never be enough or have enough or want enough." She looked about the cavernous throne room, her eyes eventually resting on Darkar's throne. "Yes… I remember. The awakening… or was it an awakening? What if it was birth?" Dark Bloom looked at Bloom. "Perhaps… perhaps we aren't Bloom. Perhaps we are a creation of Darkar's? A mindless little pawn with no will of her own. All we know is take and destroy… take and destroy… And then what? Only one word came to mind and that was rule. And we tried that. But we couldn't do it… it's as if we weren't meant to do it…"

"No, Bloom." Bloom took a step toward herself, but the other Bloom backed away, clutching the necklace. "We aren't just a pawn…"

"You aren't… but I am…" whimpered Dark Bloom. Her eyes were flashing so quickly now Bloom couldn't actually separate the colors. She curiously gazed down at the necklace and looked up at Bloom. "I-I-I can't think for myself. Baltor just tried to use me to take out the Company of Light… I fell to his power so easily."

"We'll figure this out." Bloom held out her hand to Dark Bloom, not to take the amulet but to take Dark Bloom's hand. "Come on. Let me help you… me."

Dark Bloom's gaze was locked on the locket. Her curiosity somehow shifted to understanding and realization, as though she recognized the potential of the necklace. Bloom braced herself, praying Dark Bloom wouldn't use it on her. It took all her willpower not to flinch when Dark Bloom looked up at her. Dark Bloom spoke, "No. You're right. This needs to end. We… me… you… I… can't keep going on like this." With one last longing look to Mike lying on the floor, Dark Bloom quickly turned on her heel and ran for the opening in the wall that was supposed to serve as a window in the dark fortress.

"No, Bloom! No!" Bloom ran after herself but watched in horror as she threw herself over the edge. Suddenly it was like the two minds were melded, yet apart. Bloom could see the cavern floor rising up as well as watch herself fall. It was dizzying and brought on an onslaught of emotions, but Bloom grasped the wall and took in both scenes at once anyway. It was fearful to watch and yet she was too afraid to look away. "No!"

Then there was an overwhelming rush of darkness that consumed her and didn't consume her. Her head ached and there was an instant snapping sensation that left her head aching, like someone and pulled her apart. Bloom lost her grip on the wall and collapsed, dangerously close to the edge. Her vision was swimming and her mind reeling as it failed to collect itself. It took all the strength she had but she turned her head to look at her collapsed father. "I'm sorry…" she tried saying but she couldn't get her mouth to move. Her vision began to darken and she could no longer feel any of her senses or thoughts. The last thing she saw before she finally blacked out was Mathias stepping out of the shadows and racing toward…

_~And so ends Destiny in Magic~_


End file.
